


You and I

by celestial_fire_angel



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-27 02:17:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 55,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2675195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestial_fire_angel/pseuds/celestial_fire_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the anime's 15th ending song "Kimi to Kare to Boku to Kanojo". This is an AU story based on the scenes in that ending. What happens when Natsu and Lucy meet? Love happens but one catch; the both of them already have someone. Can they still get together? Rated T for now, may go up in future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail. 
> 
> This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic, so please excuse any OOCness. Also, please provide feedback, I'd love to hear comments, suggestions, criticisms. Thanks!

Chapter One

“Hey princess, I’m going to be late tonight so don’t wait up for me. Love you.”

A finger pressed the ‘End Call’ button, hanging up on the voicemail left in the message box, and the owner let out a sigh. This wasn’t the first time so she wasn’t terribly surprised that he had bailed again on one of their date nights. It wasn’t as if he could help it, most of the time. Being a manager in one of the city’s largest banks tended to require long work hours and very little time for other things, such as a significant other but Lucy Heartfilia still didn’t think that it meant it had to happen every week. Carefully manicured nails drummed against the polished top of the small table where she was currently sitting. Another night alone, which was fine but she had really been looking forward to spending the night with him. Especially since it was their anniversary. 

Lucy could almost smile bitterly at the fact that this was the second time in a row where he had forgotten their anniversary. Last year, it was because there had been some kind of crisis back at work and he dashed out of the apartment as soon as he had just stepped inside. Lucy could still see the regret in his eyes as he opened the door again.

_“Sorry princess, they need me back at the office.”_

_Lucy was standing there, hair swept up in a bun, dressed in a simple black dress, dolled up just for the night, even wearing the necklace that he had gotten for her. Their special night. There were no words that could describe the disappointment she felt when she knew that he was heading back to work. She wanted to scream out that there were other people working there and that he shouldn’t have to go just because, but she knew better than that. Why? She had already tried it, and that lead to their first argument since moving in together._

_She could only watch the door close, the sound echoing throughout her whole being. She had no idea how long she stayed standing there, in front of the door. It had to have been hours because by the time she had gone back to the kitchen, where the meal she had spent all day fixing lay untouched, the candles she had lit were burnt all the way down to the holders._

_With a heavy sigh that mimicked exactly how she felt, she had cleaned up the candle holders and packed away the food. She quickly scrubbed off her carefully applied make up, thrown her dress in a crumpled heap next to the hamper and dragged herself into bed. When she woke up, he still hadn’t been home._

Standing up and gathering her coat and her purse, Lucy pushed open the door, where the sights and sounds of a busy street met her. As she walked, her heels clicked delicately on the concrete, her hips swaying. Lucy Heartfilia was by no means unattractive. Golden blonde locks shimmered in the sunlight, reaching just past her shoulders and framing a delicate face punctuated by deep brown eyes. She had been graced with an ample chest that was the envy of many women, a tiny waist that any man could encircle, and hips that swayed the right amount to attract any eyes.

Yes, she was blessed with all those attributes and yet why couldn’t she get her man to stay? Perplexing to say the least. She almost laughed out loud as that thought crossed her mind. She was sure that she was appealing, her healthy sex life stated so but then why was it when she tried to use it to get her guy to stay he had blatantly refused and she was even reprimanded for keeping him from his job. 

With car keys in hand, she made a list to run to the store before she went home. They were out of milk, which seems to happen often enough. Loke went through at least two cartons a week. She had teased him before about being a cat, lapping up the milk like any feline. He had retorted that if he was a cat, he’d be a lion since he had the stamina and power of one, especially in bed. Lucy had responded by throwing a pillow in his face.

Loke Regulus, banker by day, and a well-known player by night and right now, the boyfriend to one Miss Lucy Heartfilia. She was told time and time again how lucky she was to have such an attractive boyfriend by various women whenever they would walk around town together or have the occasional night out together. It was nice at first but as their relationship progressed, Lucy became weary of the constant compliments given to Loke, who was soaking in all the attention and occasionally had blatantly flirted in front of her. This had been their first argument as a couple. She was tired of it and he didn’t understand why she was so upset. It had taken a reasonable talk over the phone with her best friend, Levy McGarden to finally calm down and she had Loke had made up, all night long.

Loke was older than she was and already working at the bank she had gone to to open up an account. She had recently moved to Magnolia to study at the university and was just settling in. Loke had been the teller to help her after she talked to an advisor. She had been drawn in by the dashing smile and open flirtations. The first time, she left the bank blushing and giddy. As time progressed, she and Loke had exchanged numbers and started seeing each other. One thing led another and now, they were talking about moving in together. 

Her ringtone brought her out of her thoughts and she hastily reached into her purse to dig around and find her phone. This always happened to her; losing her phone in her purse became habitual even though her purse really wasn’t all that big to begin with. All she carried in there were all the receipts from various stores and shops she visited, her wallet, a pack of gum just in case she had anything pungent for lunch, her compact for a quick dust up, there may have been a couple of pens in there, a wrapper from her snack a couple of days ago. . .so she could stand to clean out her purse a little. 

Finally grabbing her phone, she glanced at the name before answering.

“Hi, Levy!” Her cheery tone masked any gloominess that clouded over her earlier. 

“Hey, Lucy! Are you doing anything tonight?” Levy, her best friend, who somehow knew exactly when to call and usually brought news that cheered her up. 

“Not really, my schedule just cleared.”

“Oh, again?” 

“Yeah.”

“Work?”

“Yeah.”

There was a sigh and a momentary pause. Levy knew Loke’s bad habits well enough; Lucy had spilled everything to her after that initial fight. Levy hadn’t said anything but Lucy didn’t mind. She just needed someone to hear her out, give her a shoulder to cry on. It was only afterwards that she realized how invaluable Levy was as a friend, reminding her that Loke had good traits and if she really wanted to get revenge, tape a picture of Loke’s face to a dartboard and throw a few darts. Lucy had laughed and declined, knowing that Levy wasn’t serious (hopefully).

“Well, did you want to go with me to dinner? Apparently a hot new band is playing at this really good restaurant.”

“I don’t know. . .I still have a paper to write.”

“Paper schmaper. Go out and live a little! The paper will be there when you get back. Besides, it isn’t even due for another week.”

It certainly was tempting. She knew that if she didn’t go, she’d just curl up in her pajamas, stare at her laptop with a bowl of ice cream perched in her lap, books strewn haphazardly around. Most likely she would have Netflix playing and spend a good couple of hours watching shows before she realized that it was late and that her paper still only had a title page. She would then fall asleep and wake up to fifty pages of random letters typed on her word document, spend the next second deleting it all and repeat the same process until dawn. 

“Why not?” she said. She knew Levy was right. She tended to coop up at home and try to finish all her work. She had been the nerdy type back in high school and it carried over to university. She was working on her double major in Astronomy and English with a minor in Astrology. She had more than a fair share of papers that still needed to be written and submitted.

“Great! I’ll be over at 6!”

“Okay, see you!”

“Bye bye!” 

Hanging up, Lucy chuckled to herself, feeling lighter already. 

Six came by too quickly. Lucy had thought to sneak in a few hours of research and work but she had been in the midst of typing the introduction to her paper when the doorbell rang. Looking at the clock on her computer, she jumped out of seat and went to open the door. Why was she early?

“Levy!”

“Hiya!”

“You’re early.”

“I know, I know. And good thing I was, looks like.”

Levy appraised her friend’s look. Sweatpants. Oversized sweater. Glasses. Hair in a messy bun. Definitely not ready to go out. It didn’t bother Levy. She enjoyed helping Lucy peruse through her closet and finding outfits for her to wear. She already knew her blonde bestie would be absorbed in her work, which is why she knew to plan ahead and arrive early.

Lucy grinned sheepishly. Levy knew her so well, almost like a sister would. She had met Levy during her freshman year in university. They had bumped into each other trying to find their introductory writing class and hit it off instantly. Levy was the first one she told when she started going out with Loke. “Sorry, lost track of time.”

“Of course. Well now you can get back on track now that I’m here.” Levy made a beeline for Lucy’s closet.

Closing the door, Lucy followed after her blue-haired best friend. If she didn’t keep an eye out, she would be cleaning up the mess in her closet for a good two days. Lucy like orderliness and cleanliness to a certain point but when Levy was on a mission to find “the perfect outfit”, Lucy’s closet had to suffer the consequences. When she walked into the room, she could already see a pile just outside the door of her closet.

“It’s dinner, can’t I just go in jeans and a shirt?”

The short, blue-haired woman paused in her rummaging and turned to stare at the blonde. “’Jeans and a shirt’?” Lucy took it from her friend’s tone that her suggestion was not acceptable. “We gotta get you looking cute!”

“Jeans and a shirt could be cute,” Lucy muttered.

Levy popped her head up again. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Lucy knew it was better than to argue with her friend. Levy had majored in English and minored History with a specialization in historical literature. Her friend knew the ins and outs of an argument and could convince an apple that it was an orange.

“You’re going to love the band! Music’s good and the members are HOT!”

Lucy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Levy. . .in case you forgot, I have Loke.”

“I didn’t forget. He’s the one that forgot.”

Ouch, Levy did make a good point (like always) and memories of her cancelled date with him came rushing back. She felt that familiar tug on her heart and had to take a deep breath to quell it. 

Levy didn’t miss the look on her friend’s face. Actually, Levy was mixed in her opinion of Loke. Sure, he was a nice guy and treated Lucy well, really well, almost like a princess. However, there were things about him that she didn’t like, such as canceling on plans regularly. She never knew that bankers were required to stay that long and work that much overtime. The rumors about him didn’t help either. She had heard many of the women on campus, some in both her and Lucy’s class, talking about their desires regarding a certain ginger banker with ‘an incredible body and a dazzling smile’. As far as Levy knew, there was only one. She wouldn’t go so far to say that Loke would cheat on Lucy, no, if that ever happened, she would make sure that Loke could never sleep with a woman again with a technique involving a rusty spoon and a sharp knife. His actions, though, left much to be desired, especially when it happened in front of his girlfriend. Some times Levy would quietly observe Loke’s actions and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. One time she remembered that he had injected himself between two very attractive females at a bar when Lucy had excused herself to the restroom. Needless to say when the blonde came back, the double date was over.

“You’re not seriously suggesting I wear a swimsuit to dinner, are you?”

Lucy’s voice broke through Levy’s walk down memory lane and she focused on the article of clothing in her hand. “Hey, you’d be the center of attention at least,” she joked before tossing it aside. “Found it!” Lucy looked at the top that Levy was holding up. A pink ruffled halter top that Lucy had even forgotten that she owned. Leave it to Levy to rummage up something like that. “Aaand. . .this skirt!” With her other hand, Levy produced a white high-low skirt Lucy recognized as a recent purchase. She hadn’t had a chance to wear it yet, the tags were still dangling on it. 

“I still think jeans and a tshirt,” Lucy joked and barely had time to dodge a pair of pants that sailed towards her, only to be hit in the face with the outfit Levy picked out.

“Just go change,” Levy said, barely containing her laughter at her carefully aimed throw.

“What are you wearing?” Lucy asked, taking the clothes towards the bathroom. She eyed the blue-haired student’s attire; black capris and a sleeveless orange top. Lucy wanted to ask why Levy loved orange so much, especially since her hair was blue but to each their own. Lucy had her fair share of pink things so she really had no right to judge.

“What I’m wearing is fine,” Levy said, looking down at her outfit.

“You said no jeans!” Lucy exclaimed.

“They’re capris, Lulu,” Levy retorted. “Now go, I made reservations.”

“Reservations? For dinner? Is it that nice of a restaurant?”

“Not the restaurant, the band,” Levy explained. “Whenever they play, there’s always a waitlist to get in. No waiting for us.”

“You must really love this band,” Lucy said, going into the bathroom to change. “Or is it someone in the band?”

Silence and then a bang and a pained yelp from her friend followed. “No!”

Lucy chuckled and finished changing before opening the door. “Are you sure?” She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at her friend’s impression of a tomato. 

“Let’s just go,” Levy muttered, rushing past her towards the front door. 

Lucy gathered her purse, glancing at the mess in her closet and let out a shake of her head. Making sure everything was turned off, Lucy slipped into a pair of white strappy heels and locked the door behind her. Levy was waiting for her at the end of the hallway, waving excitedly. “Hurry, slowpoke.”

“Didn’t you know that slow and steady wins the race?”

“Yeah but early bird gets the worm!”

Damn it. 

Levy hadn’t been kidding when she said there would be a waitlist. There was already a long line out the door by the time they arrived at the restaurant. Lucy felt a small sense of satisfaction walking past the long line to the front and Levy talking with the hostess about her reservation. The both of them ignored the glaring looks shot their way and were ushered to a table in front of the stage. Lucy could feel Levy vibrating and turned to see if she was okay. Clearly Levy was trying very hard not to cause a scene and managed to sit herself down. 

“Calm down, Levy,” Lucy said, chuckling at her friend. “You look like you just found out you’ve won the lottery.”

“I have!” Levy blurted, her voice a bit loud. “This is the best seat to see the band!” 

“Right, band. . .”

Lucy avoided Levy’s gaze, thankful that there was nothing within Levy’s reach that she could use as a projectile. She was even more thankful that Levy decided to peruse the menu, figuring that revenge could wait. Food was more important right now and there was a burger and French fries with her name on it. Levy had to have been thinking the same because they almost ordered the exact same thing. 

There was nothing to do but wait now so Lucy took the time to check her phone, in case she had another message or a text waiting for her. Seeing nothing, she took the initiative and send a quick text to Loke.

[ _Out with Levy. Try not to overwork yourself._ ]

There was a pause as she stared at the screen before her phone buzzed and a new message popped up.

[ _Ok._ ]

That was it? Just a simple ‘ok’? Lucy stared at her phone a bit longer. Maybe it was a mistake and he just pushed ‘send’ before he was done. Smartphones were tricky like that. One slip of the finger and messages would send without meaning to. A few more moments and it was clear that ‘ok’ was all she would get. 

[ _Love you._ ]

[ _Yeah, me too._ ]

“Lulu, what’s wrong?”

Lucy looked up at Levy and her concerned face and knew that she was causing her friend to worry. Smiling, she shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Don’t lie.” Double damn. Sometimes it was hard having a best friend who could read you like a book.

“I’m not,” Lucy looked Levy straight in the eyes. She carefully controlled her gaze, her facial features so she could convince the bluenette. The last thing she needed was to ruin an evening with her friend and bring her down too. “I swear.”

Levy scrutinized the blonde sitting directly across from her. Her instincts told her that something was definitely wrong but she didn’t want to push. Yes, she was Lucy’s best friend and wanted to try and make everything right but she also knew that Lucy was a grown woman and not as weak as everyone thought she was. She could handle herself pretty well and Levy knew there were certain times where Lucy just needed to settle things her own way. This was one of those times.

“Okay, but you better not be a gloomy gus in front of the band!”

Lucky chuckled. “Why? It’ll ruin your chances with someone?”

“Lucy!”

The blonde had a feeling that before the night was over, she would get something thrown at her, maybe a breadstick or a french fry or something.

A hush fell over the crowd and Levy let out a girly shriek as four guys walked to the front of the stage. "It’s them!!” Levy shrilled, hardly containing her excitement. Lucy looked over to the four guys and noticed that one had pink hair! It was unusual and oddly enough, it fit the owner relatively well. Lucy tried to imagine herself with dark pink hair and the image was enough to make her shudder and file it away in the ‘never again’ folder in her brain. And along with the pink hair, he wore an unusual looking scarf, at least the pattern wasn’t something popular since she hadn’t seen it before.

Looking away from Pink Hair, she saw another one who was relatively good looking but why the hell was he semi-naked?! So Pink Hair and Mr. Naked together with. . .her eyes strayed to the third person in the band. Piercings. So many piercings. There were piercings where Lucy had to wonder whether he was a masochist to get it pierced. And now the fourth member. Just how much gel did he put into his hair to make it stand like that? He was blonde just like her with a curious marking across his right eye; it was the shape of a lightning bolt. Lucy had to give it to Levy. They were nice to look at.

“Heya everyone. Thanks for comin’ out tonight to see us. We are the DragonSlayers!” Pink Hair was talking now and by the applause given by the crowd, a lot of them liked the band. “Ain’t gonna talk much because I know you’re here to listen to music, not a speech.” Looking around him, he nodded to his bandmates. “One…two…one, two, three, four!”

Lucy sat back and just watched the band play, her food momentarily forgotten in front of her. She had to admit that the group was eclectic, a bit. Pink Hair plus Mr. Naked plus Piercings and then Lightning Bolt didn’t exactly seem, to Lucy, like they would form a band together but then again, who was she to judge? All that mattered was the music and she had to admit that she liked it. The melody itself was nice but then with the bass and a killer keyboard solo, Lucy was hooked.

“Lulu,” came Levy’s voice and she knew that tone. It was an I-told-you-so tone. “What was that about a boyfriend?”

Lucy’s eyes locked with Levy’s. Her face flushed. “I was not looking at them! I was enjoying the music!”

“Suuuuuure,” came the mocking reply.

“I wasn’t!” Lucy was adamant. Sure, the guys were nice to look at but that truly wasn’t what she was looking at. She really was enjoying the music. “I already ha-.” She paused when suddenly the singing became louder. She heard Levy gasp and she turned her head in time to see a very well defined chest meet her eyes. Looking up, she stared as Pink Hair stood in front of her, still singing, with a large grin on his face. He held out a hand as if waiting for her to take it. Unsure of what to do, Lucy just stared at him.

Before she had a chance to react, Pink Hair took a hold of her hand and held it for a moment. Lucy stared at him wide eyed, unsure how to react. She could see out of the corner of her eye, Levy was holding up her phone, recording every moment. Lucy made a mental note to delete this later on. She did not need to be reminded of this embarrassing moment after tonight.

After an indeterminably long time, Pink Hair finally let go of her hand and ran back to the stage to finish the number. After he was safely back on stage, Lucy hear a shrill squeal coming from her friend.

“Oh my god, Lulu!” Levy’s eyes were shining, like she had diamonds for irises. 

“Levy. . .” Lucy started to say.

“He held your hand!” Thanks Captain Obvious Levy, Lucy thought. She looked down at the hand he held and wondered why there was a lingering warmth. Was it purely her imagination? Shaking her head, Lucy reached in for her phone. Swiping in her passcode, she couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that she still had no other text messages from Loke. “You’re so lucky, Lucy!”

“Yeah, I suppose,” she answered, without thinking.

“Natsu held your hand. THE Natsu.”

Was that his name? It fit the singer well just like his pink hair and his oddly patterned scarf and the warmth that he left on her hand. Just thinking about it, Lucy felt the blush starting to creep up again. She quickly took a sip of water and jammed her phone into her purse. She was going to think about nothing but the food in front of her. Her stomach made a loud noise, suddenly deciding to remind her that she hadn’t eaten anything yet. 

The rest of the night passed without any more embarrassing episodes, thankfully and she and Levy managed to get out of the restaurant without drawing any more attention. 

“Hey Lulu, wanna come over and spend the night?”

Lucy was sorely tempted to take Levy’s offer. She could use some company and a tall mug of Levy’s famous jasmine tea to help relax her. Her workload was piling up, though and ignoring it only meant that she would have to face it the next day, with the deadline approaching, fast. “I’d love to but I can’t. I’ve got my paper on the Zodiac to write.”

“Oh crabapples, the one for Literature?”

Lucy nodded. “Have you started?”

“I don’t even have a topic yet!”

“Levy. . . “

“Okay maybe don’t come over tonight! I have some research to do. But come over some other time okay?! Promise!”

“I promise, I promise. Now go and start on your paper!”

“Sorry Lulu!” The blue-haired girl rushed off and Lucy could only chuckle. Levy was a great student but sometimes she could be a little scatterbrained when she was stressed. Lucy wasn’t worried though. Levy could read books fast. In their first term, Levy had already read the entire booklist within the first couple of weeks. 

Heading home herself, Lucy kicked off her heels with a sigh, her feet glad to be flat on the ground. She headed into the bedroom to change out of the top and skirt and pulled on her familiar sweatpants and oversized shirt. Settling into her bed, she pulled her laptop closer to her. Opening up her paper, she stared at the screen, the blinking cursor mocking her. Cracking open her book, she flipped through a few pages, reading a few lines before closing it in frustration. No matter what she did, her brain refused to cooperate with her. She found herself rereading the same lines over and over again and the words seemed to make no sense. 

Shoving away her materials to the edge, she flopped down on her bed and brought one of her pillows to cuddle. Reaching for her purse that hung on her bedpost, she again reached for the phone. Again, she was disappointed when she still didn’t get anything, not even a phone call. Biting her lip, she called Loke.

“The number you have reached is not in service. Please hang up and try again.”

What? Confused, she tried again and received the same message. What did that mean? Was Loke’s phone off? Why would it be off? Did it run out of battery? It couldn’t be. Loke was meticulous about keeping his phone charged and on him at all times. She had woken up a couple of times when Loke would come to spend the night to find him still on the phone, texting away or talking in a hushed tone. So why was it off now?

Something didn’t feel right.

She spent the rest of the night thinking of different reasons why until she finally fell asleep, her phone resting on her chest. Strangely, that night, she dreamt of pink hair and a scarf.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Two

Hands gently clasped hers, giving a gentle tug so she fell against something solid. Immediately, warmth spread throughout her body and she felt safe, secure. . .loved. She reached out to grasp the owner of the gentle, warm hands and she could swear that she felt something like cloth against her fingertips.

“Not yet.”

Even the voice was warm and comforting and she desperately clung to whomever it was, wanting to stay in the warmth forever. Her hands reached out again.

“Soon.”

Lucy’s eyes popped open, confusion settling on her pretty features. She woke up entangled in her comforter, one leg stuck out to regulate her temperature. What was that dream? What did it mean? Who was she dreaming about? She closed her eyes again, still feeling the lingering warmth against her hands, just like last night. She tried to calm her mind and remember her dream again, hoping to find out more about what happened.

Taking a peek at her clock, she bolted up in bed, and in her haste, with her legs tangled in her blankets and comforter, proceeded to kiss the ground first thing in the morning. Groaning, she freed herself and jumped up, running into the bathroom, yanking a comb through her hair and hastily brushing her teeth. 

She had planned to head over to Loke’s place, thinking maybe at least they could grab breakfast together, she could do something nice since he had stayed at work all night. Lucy worried about him some times when he did work extra and wasn’t eating properly. When she had stayed over the last time, she had seen that his trash can full of wrappers from fast food joints and Styrofoam takeaway boxes. She guessed that he probably didn’t cook, which wasn’t terribly surprising all things considered. Oh and of course needing to stop by campus too, right.

Lucy pulled on a strapless white tank top, thanking whatever deity for the creation that was the strapless bra. She slipped on black and white tiered skirt which fell to the middle of her thigh. Rummaging through her dresser, she pulled on thigh high white socks to give herself a little bit of protection from the cooling air. Finishing off her look with her favorite pair of earrings, red hearts dangling from small silver hoops, she deemed herself ready to go. Giving herself a quick onceover, she grabbed her purse and phone before slipping on sandals and locking her door. She couldn’t help but smile as she headed towards Loke’s apartment. It was a bit of a walk but Lucy didn’t mind. She liked the exercise and she loved the outdoors, especially when the season changed from summer to autumn.

Fall tied with Spring as her favorite season. Fall was when the trees started to change color and the leaves went from rich green to warm reds, browns, and golds. As the leaves fell onto the pavement, it created a magical carpet of colors. Many people were too busy to notice but Lucy like to appreciate the underappreciated. She always took time to stare at the trees when they were changing colors and if she saw an especially crunchy leaf, she went out of her way to step on it.

Loke had called her childish when she had done that but he quickly amended it by saying that it was ‘cute’. Lucy had pouted, rather childishly, at the ‘childish’ comment but her smile was quick to return after Loke called her cute. He then made her laugh but making a big show about stepping on his own crunchy leaf. That had been almost an entire year ago as the weather had cooled down even more and the leaves dried even more as the impending winter slumber approached. This year, they had yet to share that moment. 

In fact, many of the little things they did last year were missing. Even Lucy’s birthday had been milder, in terms of the lengths Loke went through. The first year, he had booked them a special table at one of the premier restaurants in town, took her to a special viewing at the planetarium since he knew she loved stars. He had taken her up the mountain so there was no light pollution and let her tell him all about the constellations they could see and was also where he gave her birthday present: a bracelet that had the constellations chained together and the brightest star in each of the constellations was marked by a jewel. The night ended back at his apartment, a small but elegant cake lit with trick candles that refused to be blown out. Loke ended up with frosting covered fingers, trying to take them out before the wax melted onto the cake itself. The night ended with them in bed in a tangle of limbs and passion.

The second year, he had taken time off work and they both of them had gone back into the mountains to camp for a couple nights. He had given her a necklace made from white gold, the pendant was a star with a diamond suspended in the middle of the star. They spent the majority of the time wrapped in each other’s arms. At night, she cuddled against him near the fire and they both looked up, giving Lucy a chance to go into more depth about the constellations. Loke had been interested in Leo the most since he was a Leo himself. Lucy told him about The Lion and Loke joked that he was most definitely a lion because of his stamina. Lucy had blushed pink and Loke proceeded to show her exactly how accurately a lion describe him. 

This year? This year, her birthday had passed without much fanfare. Loke had been there but she could tell that he was distracted. There was no special getaway, nothing special at all. Lucy wasn’t the type of girl to expect extravagant plans when it came to things such as birthdays or anniversaries or even holidays. She would much rather spend the time curled up together and enjoying each other’s company, She hadn’t even gotten that. Her boyfriend hadn’t even spent the whole day with her. It was just past lunch when he announced that he needed to take care of something. When Lucy had offered to go with him, he shook his head. Leaning down to give her a kiss, he smiled his ever charming smile.

“Just gonna be gone a little while. I’ll pick us up dinner and you’ll have me the rest of the night. Promise.”

With that, he had left Lucy in her apartment, standing awkwardly in the middle of her living room wondering what she should do in the meantime. He never did tell her how long he would be so she couldn’t have made plans to meet up with anyone. She and Levy had agreed to celebrate a couple days after since Lucy had already told her that she and Loke had plans. . . or so she thought. To have had called Levy and said ‘oh never mind’ would have been too embarrassing. That night, Loke hadn’t showed up until well into the evening with only a couple hours left of her actual birthday. He had brought food and even went to grab her a cake but Lucy was in no mood for cake or food. She just wanted to snuggle against Loke’s strong body and be lulled into sleep by his strong, steady heartbeat.

Loke had other ideas. He had kissed and caressed, licked and persisted until Lucy was compliant in what he wanted. Lucy hadn’t given in to Loke so easily when they first started going out. In fact, she hadn’t agreed to sleep with him until months into the relationship. As flirtatious as Lucy sometimes was or dressed, she was intelligent and didn’t rush headfirst into things without thinking about it. Lucy had fallen asleep right after they were done, glad for the warmth.

Lucy walked across the street, heading towards one of the favorite places in the city. It was a long stretch of walkway that was lined by trees. The canopy of leaves filtered sunlight and created unique shadows and beams of light underneath. Lucy could sit for hours under the trees to write or attempt to sketch. Or she would bring a book and read. Start under the canopy, Lucy slowed her pace a bit so she could enjoy this part. The ground was not yet so littered with leaves yet so she didn’t have to worry about slipping while her mind wandered. 

Continuing her leisurely stroll, lost within her own thoughts, Lucy didn’t see who was walking in the opposite direction, at first. Dressed in cargo capris, three-quarter sleeved white shirt and a gray vest, of course along with his signature scarf, one Natsu Dragneel was walking along the same tree-lined path. It was only when something pink passed by her that Lucy was brought out of her thoughts. 

It took her a few steps before she did a double take and looked back. Staring back at her was the lead vocals to DragonSlayers, Pink Hair! Immediately, memories from the night before rushed into her mind and she had to fight to keep the pink out of her cheeks. The restaurant. The band. Pink Hair singing. His hand taking hers! 

Oh no! Not going there, brain! Shaking the memories out, she looked at the vocalist. It was strange to see him in such normal clothes, when the first image she had of him was his chest, his well toned, well sculpted chest, which met her eyes back at the restaurant. If his hair hadn’t been that dark pink color, she would have passed him right by without a second thought. A breeze blew, causing his scarf to flutter and her earrings to sway.

Pink Hair. . .wait, what had been his name again? Lucy scrunched up her face, trying to recall what Levy had said his name was so she didn’t seem rude. 

“Heya!”

Crap. When had he gotten so close? Lucy looked into inky black pools that reminded her of the night sky. “U-Uh, hi.” Smooth. That sounded so smooth, Lucy.

“Didja have fun last night?” There was that smile she had noticed. It was wide and seemed sincere. A broad grin that Lucy couldn’t help smiling at. Infectious, that was what his smile was.

“Yeah, you guys were great.”

“Hah, I knew that idiot stripper was wrong!”

Idiot stripper? Lucy could only imagine that was one person in their band, Mr. Naked. “Um…”

“Oh yeah, what’s your name? I’m Natsu, Natsu Dragneel!”

“Lucy Heartfilia.”

“’Lucy’?” Pink Ha- no wait, Natsu seemed to ponder it for a second. Was her name really that amusing or weird? She got her answer a second later. “I like it! Suits ya! Nice ta meet ya, Lucy!”

A small chuckle escaped from her. “Nice to meet you too, Natsu.” 

“A smile suits ya better.”

Lucy was taken aback by the comment. That hadn’t been something she was expecting. She felt her blush creep back. “What’s that mean? Don’t say weird things!”

“Tellin’ the truth, that’s all,” came the reply. His voice sounded so carefree. Did he really not have a care in the world? Or maybe he was just really good at hiding it. “Ya going somewhere? Getting something to eat? Man, I’m starving.” 

Could she really get a word in? She hadn’t been able to answer any of his questions before more came raining down. “No, I’m actually-“ She quickly dug through her purse to check her phone. Nothing. Still nothing. Was Loke still asleep? Why hadn’t he texted yet? Lucy mentally slapped herself in the face. Now she was acting like a paranoid, overbearing girlfriend. She never wanted to be that. She respected Loke’s need for time and space whenever he needed it. She didn’t question where he went or who he was with, she only cared that he got home in one piece, preferably without scratches.

“Well whatever food first!” Natsu wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. He was starving but it was weird to eat alone. Good thing he met up with the blonde girl he had met the night before. He could remember how soft her hands felt and even the slight scent of strawberries. Ice prick, wait, Gray Fullbuster, the bassist for the DragonSlayers always thought Natsu had a dog’s nose since he could always tell when someone had eaten his spicy Cheetos, even if it had been hours before.

Grabbing her hand again, he could faintly smell the strawberries as he pulled her towards the direction he had been going before he saw and recognized her. When food was on his mind, he was all-consumed by the thought. Spark Plug, wait, Laxus Dreyar had complained that they were constantly out of food because Natsu inhaled it all. It wasn’t his fault, dammit, he was hungry when he was hungry and living in an all-male household meant that they tended to pig out on as much pizza as they did booze. Sinks were where bowls that had been full of ramen were thrown and left until someone else needed to use it to make their own ramen. It also meant that when it came time to order pizza, there were many fights to determine who would make the call. Natsu, being horrible at rock-paper-scissors, tended to call the most. It was fine since he could order anything he wanted, which included a lot of spice. He liked spicy so much that Iron Ass, wait Gajeel Redfox told him he ought to eat fire directly. Iron Ass also offered to throw him into a volcano so he could eat magma. That conversation ended with a trip to the store to buy new pots and pans and the home improvement store to buy materials to fix holes in the wall. Laxus also made sure the two sported nice sized bumps on their heads for the destruction.

“Wh-what? Wait…! Hey!” Lucy stumbled after Natsu as he dragged her along. Where was he taking her? She had somewhere to be and it wasn’t having lunch with him. She barely knew him! What if he turned out to be some creepy stalker? Something in Lucy’s mind knew that he wouldn’t be. He was too happy to be someone creepy. There was an aura around him that seemed to soothe her. “I’m not even hungry!” It was at that moment her traitorous stomach decided to voice itself own opinion. Why now? She had been skipping breakfast, mostly because she was too busy to eat anything. Just a cup of coffee held her over enough until lunch.

Natsu chuckled. “Yeah, and I’m a monkey’s ass.” He paused for a second before looking back at her. “I’m not, don’t even think it.”

Lucy just stared at him before bursting out in giggles. “You just said you were.”

“I’m not!”

“But you said-“

“Forget what I said! Food. Now.”

It was fun bantering with Natsu. She didn’t think she would warm up to him so quickly. Lucy had learned to be mostly withdrawn, from her father. She lost her mother at a young age and her father was never home. When he was, he demanded perfection from her which meant she also needed to keep her emotions in check. She had learned the hard way that being emotional didn’t earn her many points in the sympathy department with her father, so she locked away her feelings, her real feelings. 

Suddenly, she a phone go off and she reached for hers, staring at the blank screen. No, it wasn’t hers, which meant. . .

“Hold on a sec!” Natsu reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Looking at the caller ID, his face brightened. “Yo, Lisanna, where are you?” Lucy felt a little awkward just standing there while Natsu was taking a call. “Oh yeah? I can come pick you up! Let’s get lunch. Nah, nothing important.”

Finally Lucy’s phone buzzed but it wasn’t who she had been waiting for. “Ah Levy. . .”

“Lulu! Has Loke called you yet?”

“Not yet. I’m actually on my way to see him.”

“Oh, well that’s weird? Usually he’d call by now. . .” There was no need to remind her, she already knew that. Loke would always usually call her in the morning just to check in. Lately, his calls had been briefer and less often and even his texts last night were weird. They seemed like Loke had been aggravated or at least annoyed at having to answer texts. Had he been annoyed? Was she thinking too much about it? Texts were usually hard to read because tone could not be sent through words. “Ah but m-maybe he’s just busy…you know!”

“Huh? Ah, yeah,” Lucy smiled, knowing that Levy was doing her best not to worry her best friend. Lucy would have to do the same. “You’re right. He does get really busy and there’s probably lots of students who want to do something with their accounts. . .”

“Right! Anyway, after you’re done, want to meet up to work on our papers? Mine doesn’t want to write itself.”

Lucy chuckled. Levy was a good student so she knew that she was only saying this as a reason for them to meet up and spend all night talking instead of doing their work. It inevitably always happened that way. 

“Oi, Lucy! I gotta get going!” Oh right, Natsu was there and it sounded like he was off the phone. “We’ll grab lunch next time, ‘kay?”

Levy’s ears were as sharp as her mind. “Who is that?”

Lucy put a hand over the mic of the phone and nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

With a big wave of hand and a huge grin, Natsu set off, presumably to meet up with whomever had called him a moment ago. Lucy gave a tiny wave back before resuming her trek to her boyfriend’s place. 

“Lulu!! Oh my god, was that…did I just hear…NATSU?”

Lucy winced at the shrillness of the bluenette’s voice. “Levy! Calm down.” She tried to placate her best friend. Her ear was throbbing already, she didn’t need a blown out eardrum to match. 

“But it was Natsu’s voice!”

“How could you tell?”

“So it was him!” Crap. How did Levy always do that? Lucy took in a deep breath.

“I just ran into him when I was going to Loke’s.”

“’Just ran into him’? Lulu, you don’t just run into someone like that!” Lucy did not like the one of Levy’s voice. It insinuated something that shouldn’t have been insinuated. 

“Well I did. I’ll meet up with you later, I’m at Loke’s.” So it was a white lie, but she could see his complex and she didn’t wake to be worked up before seeing her boyfriend. She needed to be clear-minded and no jump to any assumptions.

“Okaaaay, but I want all the details later!! Bye Lulu!!”

“Bye Levy.”

Ending the call, Lucy quickly walked to Loke’s building. It was a good thing that she had been given a spare key. Pulling out her lanyard that held all her keys, she rifled through the many that she had, trying to remember which one was the one to Loke’s apartment. “House, mailbox, pool, locker, car, desk, laptop case. . .spare, spare. . .ah here it is!” With a final jangle of her mass of keys, she produced a small silver key. With the key, she was able to enter the lobby, where mailboxes were on one side and elevators were on another. Not bothering with the elevator because she wanted to get her workout and she couldn’t stand the horrendous music, Lucy opened the door to the staircase.

Ascending the staircase, her shoes clacking on the concrete steps and echoing around her, she held onto the wrought iron railing for balance. Why she chose to keep wearing heels, she had no idea but the next time, she would remember sneakers. She wasn’t terribly fond of heights in the first place and being placed on thin heels, going up higher off the ground, no, just no. It didn’t help that since the staircase was spiral, there was a giant hole in the center. She was sure if she let go of the railing, she would somehow manage to get past the railing and fall into the giant hole. Her grip tightened on the railing.

Steadily, she made her way up to the fifth floor. Opening the door, she was greeted with plush carpeting, of course hideously patterned, but plush, that extended to the other end of the hallway before making a ‘T’ with another hallway. 

Now her shoes made no noise as she quickly crossed the hallway and came to a stop in front of Loke’s apartment, 521. Switching to a gold key next to the silver, she chuckled to herself. “I guess I’m opening the Gate to the Lion.” Maybe her research was going to her head. She delved a little into religion and her studies on Christianity had told her that the ‘Gates of Heaven’ actually did lie within the stars. Supposedly, the Golden Gate of Heaven was the intersection between the Galacter Equator, or the circle of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Ecliptic Line, which was a line that the sun travels during its annual cycle (1). It was her own little joke about Loke’s door being her own gate into pleasure heaven. Corny and nerdy but she never failed to chuckle. 

Pushing open the door, Lucy walked in. It was still dark inside, all the blinds still drawn, which meant that Loke wasn’t awake yet. Closing the door quietly, Lucy slipped off her shoes and tiptoed her way into the master bedroom. Dropping her purse gently to the ground, she carefully approached the bed, seeing a head of ginger hair splayed out over charcoal gray pillowcases. His comforter was the same charcoal gray but with black swirls along the bottom half. Lucy had helped him pick it out.

Climbing into his king sized bed, Lucy reached out to run her fingers through his silky hair. She always liked doing it, no matter if he was reading reports while laying his head in her lap or while they were cuddled together watching a movie. She liked the way her finger could slide right through without getting caught in any tangles. One time, she could have sworn that Loke purred when she stroked his hair.

Hearing a groan, Lucy pulled back.

“Mm. . . Ari. . . “

Ari? Who was that? Lucy just blinked and stared at the still sleeping lion. What had happened last night?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!

Chapter Three

Lucy just stared at her significant other. Who was he dreaming about? Did this have anything to do with last night? Was he really working? No, Lucy, calm down. There’s an explanation for this! Stop jumping to conclusions. Lucy took several deep breaths before leaning, lips brushing against her lion’s ear.

“Loke.”

Hazel irises slowly peeked out from sleepy eyelids. Heightened senses alerted their owner to another presence. In one smooth move, Lucy found herself pinned to the bed, arms pinned above her head, eyes wide as she saw a fist come towards her. Screaming, she braced herself for the punch that never came.

Slowly, recognition seeped into her lover’s eyes. “Lucy? Holy. . .what are you doing here? I thought you were an intruder.” The tension in Loke’s fist dissipated immediately and his scowl quickly turned into something much more romantic. “Well since you’re here…” 

Lucy’s heart beat faster as Loke closed the distance between their lips. She was well aware of the warmth seeping into her from his strong body and she could feel the warmth pool in her belly. The feel of Loke’s lips on her own was a welcome sensation on her own and she couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh. How long had it been since he had given her a kiss? It had to be have been the last time they had been together, almost a week ago. Or was it two? It didn’t matter. Slowly, she encircled Loke with her arms, enjoying the weight of him above her. Their lips fell into a familiar tango. Both giving and taking. Lucy was lost in the feeling, the warmth, the need until her body reminded her that it needed air to live.

Pulling away rather reluctantly, Lucy gazed up at the handsome face above hers. “I uh…just wanted to see if you were okay…”

Loke knew what she was talking about. He had overslept for the first time in a long time and missed the time where he would have called her. It was his fault for making her worry. “Mm…just tired,” he said. He did stay up all night trying to fix a breach in the security of the bank’s system. It was a good thing that he had some help, or he probably would have still been there at this hour. 

He leaned down, burying his head into the space between Lucy’s neck and her shoulder. He inhaled her familiar scent of strawberries and something distinctly. . .Lucy. He felt the blonde shifting under him, a hand coming up to stroke his hair. Loke was very tempted to let out a purr but he already made that mistake once and Lucy hadn’t let him live it down for a long time.

“Loke?”

Loke let out a grunt to show that he was listening.

“Who’s Ari?” Lucy sounded so uncertain because she wasn’t. She hadn’t wanted to ask at all but the nagging voice in the back hadn’t left her alone. There was that tiny sense of insecurity that she wanted Loke to squash.

Loke stiffened just the slightest bit. How had she known about her? He hadn’t mentioned her at all during the course of their relationship, he knew that. He was always popular with many woman and sometimes he needed to keep track of multiple women at a time. There was no point in time where he had mentioned Ariana.

“No one,” he said, so quietly that Lucy almost didn’t hear him. “An old memory.”

It made Lucy feel slightly better. So Ari, or whoever it was, was someone from Loke’s past. Loke was still somewhat mysterious. Sure, she knew the basic things; his birthday, schooling, network of friends, but she didn’t know everything. She didn’t know his past history. He never talked about his childhood, his old friends, old crushes, nothing. Lucy had been candid about herself, the good, the bad, even some of the ugly. Lucy, never wanting to pry too much, had let it go. Now she wondered if she could keep letting it go.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she smiled. “I was also here to cook you something, if you hadn’t eaten yet.”

Lifting his head, Loke reached onto the nightstand to grab his phone. Checking the time, he groaned and sighed. “Sorry, princess, I still have to go into work.”

“What? Again? But you worked late last night.” She didn’t understand why he didn’t just take the day off. He had worked hard and deserved some rest. Why would he need to go in again?

“I know, but there are still things that need taking care of,” he said. “Systems are not fully operational yet and I need go see that everything runs smoothly for the clients.” He kissed her forehead before pressing his own forehead against hers. “It’s tempting to stay though. You are irresistible.”

Lucy giggled and closed her eyes. She buried her face into his chest and let herself stay there As much as she wanted to him to stay, she couldn’t be selfish. Loke was good at his job, very good at his job and she would not be the reason why he couldn’t continue to be good at his job. He would always be there and one day apart wasn’t such a big deal, even if it were the day after their anniversary. At that, Lucy looked up so fast, Loke was glad he had quick reflexes. “I still have a bone to pick with you!”

A look of confusion crossed Loke’s handsome face. “What?”

Pushing him away, Lucy sat up to look him directly in the eyes. “You still owe me anniversary dinner, mister!”

With a smile, Loke gathered her into his strong embrace. “Yes, yes, I’ll make it up to you.”

That was all she needed to hear. “Good,” she said. Pushing away, she jumped up and headed towards the kitchen. “Now I’ll make you something to eat.”

Loke chuckled. That was one of the things he liked about Lucy. She was always considering everyone else and rarely was selfish. Sometimes, he wanted her to be selfish, just like a part of him wanted her to tell him to stay, take the day off. Ah well, going back to work was a good thing too. She was there and they hadn’t had a chance to talk because of all the crazy that happened.

It had been years since they had seen each other and now that they had met up again, he wanted to catch up. When he saw her, it brought back many memories he thought long since buried. He never told anyone, not even Lucy, about her. They had had no contact with each other, despite promising to always stay in touch but now, all that didn’t matter. They had been given a second chance to see each other again.

Lucy hummed as she quickly threw together a simple breakfast. She was not a gourmet cook by any means but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t cook a decent meal, especially for Loke. Fluffy scrambled eggs lay gleaming next to lightly toasted bread. Loke didn’t keep too much in his refrigerator since most of the time he was either at the bank or he was out. 

Loke went to take a quick shower, the water waking him up. Quickly scrubbing and drying himself just as quickly, he walked out, towel swathed loosely around his slim hips. His job required that he wear suits day in and day out but underneath the suit lay a very toned, very nicely muscled body. It was what attracted many of the ladies he had been with previously. His attractive features were a bonus.

Changing quickly into black slacks, he reached for a new white dress shirt, muscles flexing and relaxing with his movements. Grabbing his jacket and his tie, he headed out to the kitchen to see what his buxom girlfriend was up to. Something did smell good and his stomach reminded him that what he had to eat last night was crappy Chinese food, which he had to warm up in the wee hours of the morning. It was a good thing he hadn’t gotten food poisoning.

On the table, Lucy had set up the plate with the eggs and toast and also poured him a glass of orange juice. Leave it up to her to make sure that Loke was eating properly. “I appreciate it, princess,” he said, sitting down to his proper meal.

“It’s for you to keep up your strength until lunch,” she said, sitting down.

“A picture of you in nothing but an apron would give me enough strength,” Loke suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Pervert!” Lucy playfully smacked his arm, but he didn’t miss the blush on her face. Even after all this time, he found it cute that he could still get her to blush. They had been in some very compromising positions and sometimes in the most inconvenient places and yet something as simple as a statement could make her flush like a virgin.

“Ah but you love it.”

Silence was confirmation enough. Satisfied, Loke finished his lovingly made breakfast and gave Lucy a quick kiss. “It was delicious, princess. You should make it for me more often.”

“If I have time! Oh, right, I need to meet up with Levy anyway.”

“I’ll see if I can take a day off soon, so we can spend it together.”

A day alone with Loke sounded amazing at the moment. After being busy with schoolwork and Loke being busy with work, they really did need just a day for the two of them. Maybe they could go to the beach, or even a hot spring. Somewhere away from work, away from school. That would have to be after her term finals and those were weeks away.

“Yes! But after finals. Levy and I are behind in our papers already.”

Loke chuckled. “Then get that cute butt over to Levy’s.”

Lucy nodded. “Yes, yes, I’m going, Dad.” 

“Oh, are we getting kinky now?”

“Loke!”

Lucy was giggling as she went to collect her purse. Stopping by to give Loke one last kiss, Lucy left Loke’s apartment, feeling better than she had. Pulling out her phone, she called Levy to tell her that she was on her way.

****

Levy practically jumped on Lucy the moment she walked in the door. 

“I want ALL the details!”

Lucy really wasn’t sure she was talking about. She hadn’t known about the interaction between herself and Loke, and there wasn’t much else that happened in the day to tell her. “What do you mean, Levy?”

“You know!! With Natsu!” Oh. Oh! She just stared at her blue-haired friend. Why would she bring up Natsu? The dark-pinked haired vocalist’s face floated into her mind. That dazzling smile instantly taking up his whole face and which was quite infectious, if she had anything to say about it. Apparently she had the wrong expression on her face because when she came back to her senses because she found Levy grinning at her.

“W-what?”

“You were just thinking about him, weren’t you! I knew it!” Levy pulled her friend deeper into her apartment and sat her down on her bed. Standing directly in front of the blonde, the short bookworm folded her arms across her chest. “Spill, Lulu!”

“There’s nothing to spill, Levy!” Lucy needed to get whatever thought Levy had in her head, out of her head, fast. 

“I heard him. You obviously met him!”

“We ran into each other walking through the park, that’s all.”

“How romantic!”

“Levy!” Lucy groaned at her friend’s response. This was not turning out how she wanted it to turn out. She knew that Levy wasn’t Loke’s biggest fan but it didn’t mean that she needed to sound like she wanted them to split up, especially by trying to make something out of nothing. “We just said hi and told each other our names.”

“Still, it’s Natsu! From the DragonSlayers!”

“Levy, are you in love with him or something? You keep talking about him.”

“What? Natsu? Nope!” Lucy took a hard look at the bluenette. So she didn’t like Natsu romantically, it must mean she liked someone else. Someone else who was in the DragonSlayers band? Was it Lightning Bolt? He was nice to look at, though the image of tiny Levy and super giant Lightning Bolt was amusing. She couldn’t see her liking Mr. Naked either so that means Piercings?! 

“No way! Not him!”

It was Levy’s turn to be confused. “Huh? Not who, Lulu?”

“You like Piercings?!”

“P-Piercings? Who. . .his name is Gajeel! Gajeel Redfox!”

“So you do like him!”

Levy turned a nice shade of tomato red. “I didn’t say that!! Anyway we’re talking about you and Natsu!”

Lucy looked smug. It was a petty win but a win nonetheless. “I don’t have anything to say. It was only a chance meeting.”

“I heard something about lunch. You were going to go to lunch with him?”

“No, of course not. He practically forced me to go.” The tingling was back on her hand when he had grabbed her hand, again. She wasn’t sure why it always felt that way. He had been pushy but he wasn’t forceful. He was insistent but he still gave her a chance to get away. He hadn’t gripped her that hard. She mentally slapped herself as she overanalyzed the simple interaction. 

“Right, right. You said you were going to Loke’s when I called?” Levy knew when to stop pushing Lucy. She didn’t want to upset her friend over nothing. 

“Huh? Oh yeah, I saw him.” The quick change in topic left her a little behind. Usually she was quick on the uptake but she had been thrown off by Levy’s comments about her encounter with Natsu.

“He made it okay?”

“Of course. He was asleep when I got there.” She was not going to tell Levy about the almost-punch she almost endured by scaring Loke. She didn’t need Levy fussing over her. As much as she loved her best friend, the bluenette could be a tiny bit overbearing when it came to her. Most of the time she appreciated it but now, it would be a little much.

“Oh? Is that why you were stuck there for a little while?” Levy gave her a sideways glance.

“Levy! I just made him breakfast.”

“Ah, Lulu, the perfect wife!”

“As if! Eggs and toast were the best I could manage!” Lucy made a small mental note to learn how to cook better meals. It was probably better for herself too so she didn’t have to order out or find some cheap alternative. Top ramen wasn’t going to cut it on finals nights either since Lucy tended to fall asleep right after. All that sodium and MSG wasn’t too healthy either. 

“Better than nothing. Loke’s lucky to have someone like you, Lulu.” How was it that Levy always knew what to say? Sometimes Lucy had to wonder if Levy was a mind reader. Or it just could have been that they had spent a lot of time together, ever since they had met each other. Every waking moment when they didn’t have any schoolwork or tests to study for, they were hanging out, going for lunch or drinks, or even out to the club for a night of distressing after a particularly stressful term.

“Levy. . .”

“I’m just saying, in case you forgot.”

“I can’t ever forget when you keep reminding me,” Lucy said with a genuine, gentle smile. She really was lucky to have a friend like Levy.

“Aww! Love you too, Lulu!”

“Me too, Levy but love isn’t going to get these papers done!” 

The bluenette groaned. She had forgotten after getting caught up in the whole meeting-Natsu-in-the-park bit. She would never tell Lucy that she was already pairing them in her head. She would never hear the end of it from her blonde friend about how she had Loke. Yes, she knew that Lucy had Loke but in her eyes, Loke should have treated her better. She had been there for almost all of the relationship. She had seen the good and the bad side of the relationship. She had seen Lucy go through smiles and tears because of the ginger, which was why she was aware of the change in their relationship.

Lately, Levy had noticed that Loke seemed to be less available. He always made some kind of excuse whether it be work or friends and cancelled plans. The latest with him cancelling the anniversary dinner had rankled her more than she let on. She didn’t see how Lucy wouldn’t go over to his apartment and give him a piece of her mind. In fact, Lucy had done the opposite and cooked him breakfast! It wasn’t Levy’s place to say what Lucy did but she that didn’t mean she couldn’t worry about Lucy secretly.

“I still don’t know what to write about,” Levy pouted. Lucy was lucky to already have a topic since she was always obsessed with stars and the cosmos and they seemed to be the main topic she always chose for a paper. Levy was amazed that she didn’t exhaust her topics yet. The zodiac actually seemed to be an interesting paper. But Levy wasn’t sure what to choose. She could do a comparative paper between Shakespeare and modern literature and the literary devices they used but she felt it was too elementary.

“I still have so much research to do. I might have to pull all-nighters,” Lucy stated, sitting at Levy’s desk. It was a shame she didn’t take her bigger purse or she would have packed her laptop. Whoever said that women’s purses were bottomless were partially right. She was amazed that she could put so much into such a tiny purse. Crossing her legs, she made herself comfortable at the table. Levy would be pouring over books and doing research, In that time, she would borrow Levy’s computer and type up parts of her paper so she could send it to herself later. 

“You already know everything about your topic,” Levy whined, falling backwards onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Yes but I still have to do research. My strength lies in fiction, Levy. I would much rather be writing a novel than a research paper.” Lucy had always loved writing ever since she was a little girl. She was an only child so she spent most of her time with her imagination and a journal. She kept a diary and wrote down all of her feelings to cure the boredom. 

Her father had always been away on business, a very successful businessman who built a conglomerate from the ground up, and her mother had passed away when she a young child. To cope, her nanny had given her a journal and told her that she could write down everything she felt and she found that she felt better after writing things down. From then on, Lucy wrote avidly. She made up stories and even drew some pictures for some of her stories. She read them to the nanny, the butler, the maid, anyone who would listen. 

During high school, she had entered some writing contests and even had some of her work published in the student run newspaper. She was already set in what she wanted to major in before she even graduated college. Many of her peers had no clue about what to wear the next day much less what they wanted to do for college.

“Maybe next time we can do a story,” Levy said, diving back into her books. 

“No, remember, the final is an in-class essay on a random topic having to do with current events,” Lucy said, typing a few words down on the word document. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment before getting into a temporary writing groove and quickly typed out a paragraph.

“Ah no fair, Lulu! Don’t type so much!” Throwing a book to the corner, Levy grabbed another one. “I’m getting left further behind!”

“You should’ve done some work before the show last night,” Lucy said, peeking at her friend. “Instead of thinking about a certain band member with a ton of piercings!”

“That’s mean, Lulu!” Levy threw one of her pillows. It hit its target; Lucy’s head.

Lucy was shocked for only a second before grabbing the fallen pillow and carefully aiming it back at her best friend. Levy was too busy holding her sides laughing before the pillow caught her in the face and she fell backwards. It was Lucy’s turn to laugh. 

It was hours before either of them made any progress and a couple days before the deadline.

***

Both Lucy and Levy sighed breaths of relief when they handed in their papers. With trashbags under their eyes and hair a bit unkempt, it was clear they had stayed up all night to finish their papers. It was torture to get through lecture before they could pack up and go home. Lucy yawned and was carrying her phone in her hand as she walked with Levy to the parking lot. Levy had stayed over the night before to finish so Lucy drove them to school. Now, all she wanted was to do was go home and pass out. Once again, Loke had been silent. She knew it was for her own good. If she had met up with him, then there was no way that she could have made the deadline.

Now, she was too tired, her mind occupied with thoughts of her warm, comfortable bed. Her mind was fuzzy, which made for a dangerous situation. Levy was in no shape to drive either since the bluenette had been working at a more frenzied pace than she had. There had been much paper-throwing, book-slamming, cries of frustration, words of encouragement and coffee, lots of coffee.

Levy had sworn and promised never to leave something to the last minute again. Lucy had heard this time and time again, every time they had a big project assigned but every time there was something that came up and the bluenette would fall behind. Lucy was normally better about completing her assignments in an efficient manner but this time, she had been swept up in Levy’s craziness.

Levy had insisted they go see the DragonSlayers again. Lucy knew it was because she wanted to see Pierc-wait, Gajeel again but Levy had nudged her in the side and told her, slyly and jokingly, that Natsu would be there too and wanted to hold her hand again. Lucy carefully aimed a well thrown pillow which caused Levy to tumble to the ground while laughing hysterically. 

Lucy had been dragged, quite literally, by Levy to go see the band, who was performing at a tiny, public amphitheater. It had almost looked like an amphitheater at the local high school but when Lucy and Levy had gone, there was a good sized crowd gathered already.

“Look, look, there they are!”

“Levy, you know we shouldn’t be here.”

“Count this as our break, Lulu! My brain is going to explode.”

“Your brain is like a sponge, it soaks up everything you read anyway. How is it going to explode?” The thousands of books Levy read still hadn’t caused her brain to explode so no way was a research paper going to do that.

“Lulu!”

Lucy sighed. When Levy looked at her with those kind of sad eyes, she gave in. Besides, she could see Levy’s point. What was the harm in a few minutes just to relax and forget about school? The paper would still be there and they could always make up the time a little later.

Little did she know that ‘a few minutes’ would turn into an hour and an hour would turn into a few hours. 

Natsu and the rest of the DragonSlayers had managed to book the tiny amphitheater for a gig but it had taken a lot. All of them had pulled in favors, especially Laxus with his grandfather, who was the Headmaster at the local Academy or something, Natsu didn’t really care. As long as the old man came through, which he had.

Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, and Laxus all knew each other from childhood. Laxus, having been a bit older, was really more the decision-maker, even though Natsu was deigned the lead singer. He was only given the position because every other instrument, other than the guitar that he tried, he somehow broke. He had tried the keyboard but they found out he had no sense for the keyboard, after ruining three of them, or bass, in which he broke two, and booted to drums. Natsu’s tendency to be destructive meant going through two drum sets before eventually, he was just handed a microphone left alone with the guitar. Not only was it easier to replace, it was less expensive to replace.

Lucy and Levy had been standing in the far back, so it was easier to leave if they needed to go back so neither of them were quite sure how Natsu managed to spot them. It wasn’t as if they were dressed particularly nicely. The both of them were in baggy sweaters and old jeans. They hadn’t planned to stay more than a half hour.

“Yo! Lucy!”

Both Lucy and Levy eyes’ widened in surprise. There were probably a hundred other people there but the lead singer made a beeline straight towards them. Levy nudged Lucy in the side. “He remembers your name!”

“Why does that matter? I told you my name and you remembered it too!”

“Yeah but this is different!”

“It isn’t!”

Natsu appeared, wearing his ever wide grin. “Man, sorry we couldn’t grab lunch the other day.” He looked a little sheepish, a little apologetic. 

Lucy blinked a couple times before she finally remembered. Her mind had been consumed by school and she had pushed the brief encounter into the back of her mind. “Oh yeah, uh, no big deal.”

“Wanna grab something later?”

It was so easy, the way he had asked, almost as if he had been thinking about it all this time, which Lucy was sure wasn’t the case. They had only met two times before this time so there was no reason for him to be thinking about it.

A hard nudge from Levy reminded her that she still hadn’t given a reply. “Oh uh, not now, we need to go back to finish schoolwork.”

“That’s cool, school’s important. Not to me but to ya.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Why was she apologizing? Did she really want to go? No, don’t even go there, brain! Lucy screamed at her mind. Fatigue did funny things.

“Nah, you’re good. Hey, give me your number so we can reschedule!”

Why was Natsu so adamant about going to grab a meal with her? It wasn’t like they were dating or even good friends. At the moment, Lucy had only considered him a casual acquaintance. She had bumped into him once on the street and one time during one of his performances so why all this familiarity?

“I’ll give it you!” Levy just had to jump in at the time, phone already out and Lucy’s numbering glowing on the screen. It was scary how anxious Levy was to give Natsu her number and she couldn’t figure out why.

Natsu didn’t seem like he particularly cared who gave it to him as long as he got it. The blonde seemed nice and was a new friend. He wanted to get to know his friend a little more, so they could be better friends. Natsu had that kind of charm on anyone. He was willing to accept anyone as a friend, as long as they didn’t do anything to hurt himself or his other friends. He had a deep sense of loyalty and trust that was hard to break, so when it was broken, it took him a long time to recover.

Lucy just stared as Levy and Natsu exchanged numbers and she watched as he excitedly added both her and Levy’s numbers. “Okay, gotta go, just wanted to say hi!” Giving them a wave, he rushed back to the stage so finish warming up.

“Levy! How could you do that?”

“Relax, Lulu! It’s just lunch. It isn’t a date or anything. You go to lunch with friends all the time, right?”

“Yeah but I’ve only met him twice. . .”

“Three times now,” Levy corrected.

“Okay, three times but still. It’s too early to have lunch.”

“Oh, stop being so old-fashioned!” Levy scolded her. “At least with Natsu, he’ll probably pick up more than Loke would!”

That statement stung more than it should have.

The phone buzzing in her hand woke Lucy from her trip down memory lane. That incident had happened three days ago. When she and Levy had finally gotten home, after staying for the whole show, and then staying a little extra to chat with the band members, they finally made it home and fell asleep right after. That had been a waste of a night. The next two days, they still both had to attend class, which left only the afternoons and nights to finish their work, hence the all-nighter they pulled the night before.

Lucy stared at her phone and saw she had a message from Natsu.

Natsu  
[Yo, it’s Natsu. Ya done with class yet?]

How did he know when she had class? She stared at her friend trudging beside her. “Levy…how often have you been texting Natsu?”

“Dunno, can’t think right now,” came the reply. Clearly, it was enough for her to tell them all about their class schedules.

[We just got out. Why? What’s up?]

[Wanted ta see ya. Meet up at your school?]

What?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Four  
‘Wanted to see me’? Lucy’s mind went blank. What did that mean? Did it mean what she thought it meant? Stupid Natsu for typing something like that. Stupid brain for being so tired and thinking weird things. Stupid Loke for not picking up his phone. Stupid Levy for giving her number to Natsu. Stupid. How was she going to respond to something like that, especially when it was worded that way?

But, she had to reply something. Sleep deprivation did funny things to the brain. She thought she had typed one thing but her fingers clearly had a mind of their own.

[Sure, Levy and I need coffee. Bad]

Wait, what? She had wanted to type ‘Maybe another time, we want sleep’ but looking at her phone, that was not what her fingers had typed. Oh crap. Where was the delete button?? Fumbling, Lucy smashed her finger onto the screen.

“No, no, no no no, don’t send that!” she screamed at her phone, making Levy jump.

“What’s the matter, Lulu?”

Lucy didn’t answer. She was too busy deleting her message before holding up her phone in triumph! She did it! Message was deleted. Now to type what she had actually meant.

“Yo!!”

The loud voice beside her startled her, causing her to scream, jump about three feet in the air, and drop her phone. There was sickening sound of glass and plastic meeting concrete. Beside her, Levy jumped too, dropping all her books, papers scattering all around.

Heart thudding at a mile a minute and threatening to break through her chest, Lucy quickly looked around before her eyes landed on the culprit. Wide grin. Signature scarf. Pink hair. Natsu. Natsu. Freaking. Dragneel.

“Whoa, you jump high, Luce!”

It took a moment for her hearing to return to normal after the heavy thudding of her heart consumed most of her auditory receptors. It took another moment for all her senses to come back enough that she could form sentences. “You! What was that for?? You gave me a heart attack!”

“It was fun seein ya jump!” A smile that was so carefree accompanied a sentence that was so guilt free.

“You made me drop my phone!” Lucy hurriedly picked up her mobile device and immediately checked the screen. To her horror, there was a huge crack right in the center and any amount of pushing the power button did nothing to turn on said screen. Well shit. There went her way of communicating with just about everyone! Though the two people she communicated with the most were Levy and Loke, the latter being the harder one to reach. Lately, it seemed like he was spending even more time at work. She had called him all hours of the day and he kept saying the same thing over and over again. “Can’t talk, princess, I’m at work.” “Sorry, Lucy, I have to stay at work a little longer. I’ll call you back.” Of course there were no calls back. Lucy had to force herself not to text or call Loke again, especially in the wee hours of the night. She had wanted to confront him about his apparent lack of responsibility towards her but she understood that work was work. Just some time, she wanted to be a little more important than work.

How long had it been since that day she had gone over to his apartment? There were times where Lucy had wanted to go to Loke’s again but schoolwork got in the way. She and Levy alternated whose place they would stay at during their marathon of essays. Music was a must during the day but at night, they worked at a frenzied pace. They slept in shifts, usually, with Lucy taking the first since she had been further ahead. The writing was the easy part. The part Lucy abhorred was the research, the quoting, the citations and proper formatting. The style of writing was too constrictive, which was why she was looking forward to the next semester, when she could focus on free writing and creative writing.

“Lemme see.” Natsu took the phone from her and looked at it, giving it a once over. “Damn Luce, it’s busted.”

Lucy snatched it back and shoved it into her bag. “Thanks, Captain Obvio- wait, what did you call me?” It only just dawned on her that Natsu hadn’t called her by her name but-

“Luce. I like it,” Natsu said. He looked proud that he had a nickname for her, even though they weren’t that close. “Suits ya.”

Levy, who had been gathering her own papers suddenly decided that she had a voice again. “Aww, it’s cute! I like it, Lulu!”

Natsu laughed. “’Lulu’ huh? That’s cute.”

Lucy found herself blushing. Damn it! This was not the time to be flushed. He just broke her phone. “S-shut up! You owe me a new phone!”

Natsu didn’t seem fazed at all. “’Kay, wanna go pick one out together?”

Why? Why was it that every time he said something, it had to have a hidden meaning?! Lucy stopped herself. No, it didn’t have any hidden meaning. She was the one attaching hidden meanings to everything that he said. He was just being nice and offering to go with her. That, or making sure she didn’t pick out something ridiculously expensive. Lucy may have had a slight obsession with shopping but she wasn’t extravagant about it. Coming from a wealthy family didn’t mean that she was spoiled. Quite the opposite in fact. Lucy learned from a young age to budget and ensure that there was money in the future, not to blow it all on extravagance, even if money was not an issue. Her mother had taught her that despite seeing how extravagant her father was because of his personal wealth.

“I can go myself,” she eventually answered. “I’ll just send you the bill!” Of course she was joking but she at least deserved that much.

“’Kay, whatever you want. Man, you got any place to eat around here? I’m starvin’!”

“Why is it you’re always starving when I meet you?” 

A shrug from the pink-haired vocalist. “I’m always hungry. Oh yeah, you said you wanted coffee right?”

My fingers said I wanted coffee. I just want sleep! Lucy thought to herself. “Uh yeah.”

Levy let out a big yawn. “Coffee’s good. We stayed up all night with our papers. But I think even with coffee, I’m going to take a really long nap!”

Levy yawning caused Lucy to yawn. Damn infectious yawns! Something struck Lucy as odd though and she opened her mouth before she could help herself. “How did you get here so fast?”

Unfazed, Natsu shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the passing students. “I was around.”

Lisanna, that was Natsu’s girlfriend, took some classes and he had some time to walk her over to her class. She was feeling nervous about her test and she said that she felt better if Natsu was beside her. Knowing that he couldn’t be in the classroom with her, walking her the whole way was the next best thing. He knew, from texting with the Lucy’s blue-haired friend, Levy, that they both went here as well. Well if he was already in the area and they were free, why not meet up? 

So that was it. But what did that mean? Did Natsu go here too? Or. . .wait. Lucy thought back to the second time that they had met. Natsu had been talking to someone on the phone and from the name, it had been a girl. His girlfriend? Maybe his girlfriend went here too? Lucy didn’t know why she felt a little tickle in the back of her throat when she thought about Natsu having a girlfriend. It was only reasonable. He was good looking, Lucy wasn’t going to lie about that so it was natural that he would already be with someone. For some reason, she wondered if Natsu would be one to consistently reply to texts. She had already seen him pick up the phone and answer so that was already a bit better than Loke. Stop it! Her mind shouted at her. This wasn’t the time to be comparing her new friend to her boyfriend. There was no reason to do that. Natsu was in a band, so she was sure that gave him a little more freedom than working at a bank did.

Right, Loke still did owe her a day off. He never did take a day off “soon” like he had told her and it bothered her a bit. Usually he had been so good at keeping his word but lately he had been getting more and more forgetful. There couldn’t be that many things going on for him to ignore her like this, could there? Or was it something more? 

Her feminine intuition felt that there was something more to the story than just a case of being overworked. The missed calls, even the hushed calls at night were suspicious. Lucy never wanted to doubt Loke and she could never imagine him hurting her like that, but there was always a voice in the back of her mind that wouldn’t shut up. She didn’t want to keep anything from her boyfriend, but she needed to get rid of that nagging thought. 

“Coffee’s over this way,” Levy answered, when she noticed that Lucy seemed deep in thought. From the look on her face, she could tell that the blonde was thinking about Loke again. She let out a soft sigh. Lucy was head over heels for Loke which meant that she was blind to some of the things he was doing. Levy herself had some questions for the ginger playboy but he seemed to be missing in action quite a lot.

“Man, I hope they have something spicy!” Natsu said. His favorite type of food was spicy, the hotter the better. He wanted to act like he could eat fire. Man, that would be something so cool to do at one of their shows; fire-eating. Maybe he could convince the Ice Stripper to eat an iceblock and maybe Gajeel to eat some nails. He wasn’t too sure if Laxus would be willing to eat lightning but it would funny as hell to see him try.

“How can coffee be spicy?” It sounded like Lucy was back in the conversation as well.

“It can too! Just add hot sauce or something!”

“Eww. How can someone drink hot sauce in coffee??” Lucy couldn’t help but cringe at the image of pouring hot sauce into coffee. She liked her coffee with just sugar and cream, thank you.

“Why not? Hot sauce is good, coffee is good. So it has to be extra good when you put it together!”

“Natsu, sometimes your logic. . .”

“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s see if they’ll put extra cinnamon or something instead.”

“Whatever. As long as it’s spicy!”

Levy couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute the bantering was between Lucy and Natsu. But she would keep that to herself, for now.

Lucy had gotten home in the afternoon, after Natsu had told them that he needed to go meet back up with Lisanna since her classes were now over. Throwing her backpack down, she flopped on top of her comforter, glad to be home. As fun as it had been hanging out with Natsu, she was desperate for some sleep now. She clutched at the remains of her phone, staring at the pitifully shattered screen and the dented frame. All that damage from being dropped? Well, it was time to get a new one so she would go to sleep and hopefully tomorrow she could summon the strength to head to the store. Now, she wanted to sleep, her body begging her for some rest…except that her stomach was growling.

Groaning to herself, she lay on the bed, not wanting to move an inch. She was so comfortable and her eyelids were so heavy. Effortlessly, she drifted off into sleep. It wasn’t until hours later that Lucy roused herself, feeling more refreshed than she ever had. Pushing herself up, she rubbed the sleep from eyes, slightly disoriented. It was dark now and she reached over to flick on her small reading light. Looking around, she automatically grabbed her phone before she remembered that it had met its demise when the concrete decided it wanted a kiss from her phone.

Sighing, Lucy stumbled to her bathroom to quickly run a brush through her hair, muttering curses every time the brush hit a knot. She washed her face, rubbing her fingers through the creases in her cheek her comforter made during her glorious nap. Declaring herself decent, she grabbed her purse. Maybe she could go and wake Levy, knowing her best friend had the same idea and would grab some sleep after getting home.

In fact, Levy had fall asleep when she had been dropped off and gotten home, just like Lucy had. But her body forced her awake when she realized her bladder was dangerously full. A hop, a skip, and a jump later, Levy felt awake. It was too bad Lucy’s phone was broken or else she would’ve called her best friend to grab something to eat. Coffee may have been an appetite suppressant but it wasn’t working anymore. She would get something and drop it off at Lucy’s since her friend had been kind enough to put her up for a couple of nights and so graciously drove them to school that morning.

She dropped by one of her and Lucy’s favorite places to order take out. Just walking into the restaurant, the aroma that wafted to greet her sense of smell was mouth-watering. They had the best bakery in town; Lucy and Levy were always there for the desserts but that hadn’t meant the food was bad. Levy picked up two sandwiches and also a clam chowder served in their infamous bread bowl. It was a delicious clam chowder but the best part was tearing apart the bread afterwards, having been soaked in the chowder. Lucy and Levy always fought for the best part, the bottom of the bowl. For dessert, a pretty little slice of strawberry mousse cake topped with a sliced strawberry and a chocolate curl, wrapped in a small chocolate ribbon. 

As she was waiting, Levy took a look around the restaurant. It was set up more like a café, but there was waiter service. The counter was in the middle, glass displays of all the baked goods, baked fresh daily, were on display, gleaming with their promise of gastronomic heaven. The lighting was soft, so it was nice for a date but bright enough that it could be enjoyed with friends and family. As her eyes scanned the room, she noticed a familiar mop of ginger hair. She was about to call out to him when she noticed that he was laughing and joking with someone else. Someone else who was a woman. Not Lucy, unless Lucy had gone and dyed her hair baby pink and wore a headband that had two little ram horns attached to the side. The woman had seemed shy, gentle, well-mannered and too familiar with Loke. 

They sat hovered over the table, speaking in soft tones. Levy was too far away to hear anything but from their body language, it was clear that they were close. Just how close, Levy didn’t know but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Was this really why Loke had canceled all those times with Lucy? Was the pink-haired woman the reason why Lucy was so disappointed? Lucy managed to hide her feelings well enough but Levy knew. The soft sighs, the looks at the phone, the absent-minded doodles in class. Her friend had been preoccupied and if Levy was any less of a friend, she would have missed it. True, Lucy like time to herself but she wanted time with her boyfriend and lately, he had been ignoring her. Or so it seemed.

The bluenette had half a mind to head over to Loke’s table and make a scene but she couldn’t be certain that he really was with this pink-haired woman in that way. She didn’t want to make something out of nothing, if they were only fri-wait, she blinked as she watched Loke place his hand gently on the other woman’s. It was a tender gesture, almost loving. She didn’t look like him so she couldn’t have been a sibling. That look from him certainly didn’t say ‘family’ or ‘friend’.

“Miss? Your order is ready.”

Levy forced her eyes away from the scene of the couple and to the cashier. Paying, Levy mumbled her thanks and ran out the door. The bluenette had never sped so fast in her life, trying to reach the blonde’s apartment as quickly as she could. As she drove, she was conflicted. She didn’t want to cause a rift between Lucy and Loke but she was also Lucy’s best friend. Anything that may hurt her, Levy had to try and protect her.

She struggled with the decision for a long while. It was well after dark before she forced herself out of her car, the now cold food clutched in her hands. She decided that she wasn’t going to wait any longer and ran at a full sprint up towards the blonde’s door.

Lucy was just on her way out the door, when she saw Levy running full speed towards her. She thought she saw fire in Levy’s tracks, her friend was running so fast.

“Levy? What happened, is that barking rat after you again?” One of her neighbors had an annoying Chihuahua that Lucy nicknamed Barking Rat. Chihuahuas were kind of rat-looking, in her opinion and they barked at everything. It was funny to see the whole dog jerk with each bark. Yeah, no thank you.

Levy took a moment to catch her breath. “Lucy!” The stare in her gaze so intense that Lucy knew it was serious. That and Levy had used her name instead of ‘Lulu’, like she always did.

“What happened, Levy?” There weren’t many moments where Levy was super serious. Even studying for finals, Levy always cracked jokes or made fun of Lucy for something. This was a side Lucy rarely saw from the bluenette.

Levy ushered Lucy back into her apartment, kicked the door closed with her foot. “Lucy. . .do you know about Loke?”

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. Had something happened with Loke? Was he okay? She should have gotten a new phone earlier! “What? Is he okay? Which hospital is he at?”

“No! Not that.” Lucy felt relief flood her system. So he wasn’t hurt, which was always a good thing to hear. But why did Levy still look so serious? As far as Lucy knew, Loke was at work, though he probably would be getting off soon enough. The bank itself closed at eight on a weekday and Loke was one of the last to leave. If he had to finish up any remaining work, he would be home at nine..

“What is this about?”

“Loke, he- I saw him with another woman!” Levy blurted out the reason she had run so fast.

At first, Lucy was confused. Another woman? Loke? That didn’t make any sense, though it made perfect sense when she rationalized it. Loke worked with a lot of women at the bank. Most of them were tellers and a few were advisors. It wasn’t too strange to see Loke with another woman because his coworkers were women. “How is that strange?”

It was frustrating that Lucy wasn’t getting it but Levy calmed herself down. She told Lucy the scene at the restaurant, the hand holding, the tender gazes. “It was like they were on a date!” Levy finished, the bag of food lay forgotten at their feet.

Loke? On a date? With another woman? What was he doing on a date? He was supposed to be at work. Unless it was a business date? But if it was a business date then how come there was hand holding and tender gazing? Was he trying to make some kind of deal and needed to flirt to make it happen? That had to be it. If it wasn’t then Loke was ch- No, she couldn’t even think that he would do that. Not to her, right? Then again, Loke’s personality and the recent behavior. Lucy had written it off as being busy. In hindsight, maybe she shouldn’t have been so easy to dismiss the signs.

He had been breaking off dates, important ones mostly. He hadn’t been keeping his word to her about taking time off or spending any time with her. Normally, he would visit every so often and stay for a night at her apartment, bringing his laptop to do any extra work, and leave the next morning but he hadn’t even been doing that. Ignoring her phone calls and even the sporadic texting had been irritating but Lucy made the excuse that he was busy.

No, she needed to get to the bottom of this. She and Loke were in a long term relationship so she knew most of his habits. To suddenly just change. . .but had it really been so sudden? When she thought back, the missed calls happened once in a while and she understood that it did from time to time but one instance in particular was when he had heard someone else on the other end as well and Loke had hung up on her and didn’t call back until much later. 

That had been months ago. Was she really so blind? 

“Sorry Levy, I need to go to Loke’s.”

“Want me to drive?”

Lucy pondered for a moment. Maybe having Levy there would be good support but then again, this was between her and Loke.

“No, if I need anything I’ll ca-“ She couldn’t exactly call with a busted phone. Damn it, Natsu. “I’ll let you know.”

Levy nodded. “Oh, sorry about the food…Tastes great heated though!” It was her weak attempt at lightening the mood. 

Lucy gave a weak smile. “You can stay here, Levy. You came all this way anyway.”

Levy always loved Lucy’s sense of hospitality but this was one day where she knew that going home was the better option. “Nah, I only planned on having dinner with you.”

“Sorry.”

Levy vehemently shook her head. “Don’t you dare apology, Lucy Heartfilia. Something serious is going on so go take care of it!” Lucy was always making excuses for Loke or apologizing on his behalf. She needed to stop that! It wasn’t he fault that he was the way he was and there was no changing a man like that, no matter how hard she tried or even how good she was to him. Levy knew it when they first started going out, that Lucy was a bit too good for Loke but the blonde had been set on being with him. “You get going, I’m just sticking this in the fridge and then I’ll head out too.”

Lucy nodded and threw an apologetic look once more towards her friend before slipping out. Her mind was fuzzy and she wasn’t even aware that she had gotten into her car and was driving. Before she knew it, she was parked in front of Loke’s apartment complex. She didn’t like the sense of foreboding she felt in her chest. Getting out of the car, she let herself into the building. Her footsteps were muted by the carpet. As she neared his apartment, she could hear his voice coming from within and a quieter female voice.

“…long time…see…we…together…”

“….not…anyone?”

Was this the same woman Levy had told her about? She focused her hearing on the door, Loke’s voice getting louder and louder, which meant that he was coming closer towards the front door.

“Let me…phone call to work. I’ll let them know I won’t be in for a couple days.”

He was calling off work? Why would he do that? What was he planning? Was he going to be with whoever was in there with him? There were so many questions she had but she knew she wouldn’t get an answer to any of them. All she knew was that she couldn’t be caught.

Lucy back away and looked to either side. There weren’t any good places to hide except for another hallway. She ran for a connecting hallway and hid herself just in time. She heard a door open and Loke’s voice could be heard. She didn’t want Loke to know that she was spying on him and she hadn’t mustered up the courage to confront him just yet. She forced herself not to peek out.

“Hey princess. . .”

What the hell?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Five

What was he doing calling her? Lucy was so confused. He had said that he would be telling work that he was going to take the day off and now. . .

“Hey princess, it’s me. Hey, work needs me to go on a business trip so I’ll be out of town for a couple of days. Bet you’re studying or with Levy. I’ll call when I get back. Love you.” A moment of silence before the sound of the door shutting and the click of the door lock told Lucy that Loke had gone back inside. The buxom blonde slide down the wall, her mind trying to process what just happened. 

Loke had just lied to her? Lied to her about going a business trip and is now inside his apartment with another woman? Her chest tightened and the oxygen seemed to be sucked out of the entire hallway. There was a crushing pressure on her heart, one so intense she felt like the entire weight of the world was on her chest. She forced herself to blink back the tears that threatened to streak down her face. She, with some effort, pushed herself back up and stumbled towards Loke’s door. Pressing an ear, she covered her mouth to make sure no sound escaped accidentally.

She could hear muffled noises, and then one very distinct sound that seized up her heart and wouldn’t let go. A moan. Was he and that woman…were they…?

She had enough. She needed to leave. Keeping her hand over her mouth, she didn’t trust herself right now, she somehow made her way back to the lobby and then out the door. It was only when she was standing outside did she let out a choked sob. Her legs giving out on her, she collapsed to the ground, her whole body dry heaving but since she hadn’t had much during the day, her body was wracked with heaves.

Her heart felt as if it had gone through a shredder, torn, bleeding, broken. It was true. Why hadn’t she seen it earlier? The signs were all there but she had to be the blind loser and make up various excuses for him! Tears poured down her face, physical evidence of the pain that was all-consuming and threatened to overwhelm her. The crystals of pain flowed freely eventually becoming lost in the fabric of her clothes. Oblivious to the rest of the world passing around her, Lucy stayed on her knees for what seemed like hours. 

By the time she moved, Lucy’s tears had long since dried up, her body shaking with silent sobs. Her eyes reddened and puffy, she pushed herself up with some difficulty, her feet robotically walking her numb body towards her car. She hadn’t the slightest idea how she managed to get home but she found herself standing at her front door, just staring blankly at the wood. Maybe she could just pass through it without needing to open it. Everything felt heavy, even her arms. It took all her strength to lift the key and unlock the door. It took the rest of her reserves to shove it open. Kicking off her shoes, she leaned heavily against the door to close it and slid to the ground, staying there. Her mind, her body, her heart, all numb.

It was only until her body collapsed from sheer exhaustion did blissful sleep claim her.

Lucy hadn’t stepped out of her apartment for a couple of days. The only times she moved was to take a sip of water but other than that, she lay in bed and stared into space, lost in her own thoughts. Maybe having a broken phone was a good thing. There were no interruptions, no distractions, no reminders. She didn’t have to talk to anyone, see anyone, put on a fake smile for anyone. She was tired, just so tired.

She was sure that Levy had come and check up on her a few times. She had heard the blunette through the door but she was in no mood to see anyone, not even her best friend. She knew that her friend was worried about her but right now, she just needed to be alone. Alone with her thoughts.

What had she done wrong? She had gone through every aspect of her and Loke’s relationship, milestone by milestone. What was it that she had done that caused him to go astray? Had she not been there enough for him? Did she complain too much? Was she too clingy? Did she text too often? Was she too nosy? Was she too annoying? A myriad of questions skirted through her brain, every one of the a question about her supposed shortcomings. Did she dress weird? Was she too immature? Was it because she didn’t have a job? Or that she was still in school?

A loud banging on the door tore her from her wallowing in despair. Startled, Lucy just stared for a moment before forcing herself to her feet, her whole body protesting at the movement. Crossing her room and then into the hallway, through the living room and to her door. Had she really walked all this way in a haze without bumping into anything on autopilot? Looking through her peephole, she spied something. . .pink? It couldn’t be!

Yanking open the door, she stared in puzzlement at her unexpected visitor. 

“N-Natsu?”

“Yo!” Natsu greeted her, holding one hand. His trademark grin waned a little when he saw the state she was in. “Ya look like shit, Luce.”

Leave it up to Natsu to be blunt. “. . .” Lucy stayed quiet. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything to anyone. She just wanted to be left alone for a while. “Go away, Natsu. How did you even know I lived here?” She was sure she didn’t tell him her address so that left only one possibility: Levy. Lucy sighed. She loved her friend, but sometimes the bluenette needed to mind her own business. “It doesn’t even matter. I’m not feeling good today.”

“Nope, you’re getting’ outta your nest today,” Natsu said, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside.

“No! Stop, I don’t want to!” Her protests were loud but her body did little to resist. She had no strength left to resist and her feet had a mind of their own.

“Yer gonna like it! Promise!” Even Natsu’s grin, which normally could make her smile, did nothing.

“You said I looked like shit…how am I going to go anywhere?”

“Ya still look good even though ya look like shit,” Natsu shrugged. Even with huge bags under her eyes and unkempt hair, Natsu didn’t mind. She looked better than he did when he pulled an all nighter trying to finish a song. As Gajeel and Laxus had told him, he looked like ‘death warmed over’. Lucy was better than ‘death warmed over’ maybe ‘hell frozen over’? No, ‘dried dog poop’? Frick no. He had a sneaking suspicion that he would be six feet under if he had said that to her.

“…You really have a way with words, Natsu.”

“Heh heh, yep! That’s why I’m the singer!”

Lucy sighed. “Where are you taking me?” Not that it mattered. He could be leading her to slaughter and she wouldn’t have cared. “And where’s Levy?” She was sure her friend would have wanted to come and visit.

“Uh…think I still owe ya a phone,” he said, sheepish grin on his face. So he hadn’t forgotten. Lucy was slightly thankful for that but she had only been half joking when she wanted him to pay for it. She knew well that it had been an accident and no one was at fault. “Levy said she’s be around later. I dunno why.”

“It’s fine. About the phone.” Lucy smelled a set up but she was too tired to care.

“No it isn’t! Man, it was a mistake giving Levy my number. She’s been on my ass all this time about paying you back your phone so she can call ya. Finally got some time so I came.”

Lucy was well aware that Levy did not need a phone to get into contact with her. Once again, her friend was butting in, now more than ever since she had seen Loke. Loke. Her heart throbbed painfully at the name and she brought a hand up to clutch at her chest. How long had it been since that day? Did he even realize it had been that long? Did he come back from his “business trip” yet? “Oh.”

“We got a show comin’ up, ya hafta come!”

“I don’t know, Natsu. . .”

“Pleaaaaase?” Natsu turned to give her his best pout. Lucy just stared and shook her head. 

“Are you always like this?”

“That’s what makes me loveable!”

Lucy was vaguely aware of Natsu’s hand still grasping onto her own. At least her hand wasn’t cold anymore but the rest still felt that she was frozen inside. She put her mind and her heart through the nine circles of hell and back each time she thought about herself and Loke. And she had put herself through it more than twice. She scrutinized every aspect of her relationship and tried to find a place where she had screwed up but she couldn’t find any. But she had to. If she didn’t, it meant that it was Loke’s fault, all of it and the last time she checked, it took two to form a relationship. No matter how many times though, she just couldn’t find anything she did that would make his eyes stray.

“Natsu?” The pink-haired male turned to look at the blonde, waiting for her question. “Am I pretty?”

That question was totally unexpected. How could she ask something like that? Natsu scrunched his face and paused before answering. “You’re pretty like a star I guess.”

A star? That was and interesting comparison. “Uh, you know stars are just light rays reaching the each from other star systems right? And that light is from fusion of hydrogen into helium.”

“Ugh, I dunno. It’s like stars are always in the sky right? Even in the day time? Anyway, cuz of the sun and then at night there’s so much light around here, it’s hard to see ‘em. Just takes special people to appreciate them I guess. . .man I suck at explainin’. I just mean yer pretty and if people are blind to that, then they ain’t special enough for ya. Make sense?”

For a moment, Lucy just stared at him. She hadn’t known that he could think that deeply. The comment struck her deep in her core and she could feel the ice cracking., slightly. Then, for the first time in a while, Lucy managed a small smile. “You do suck at explaining.”

“Oi!” Natsu was going to glare at Lucy but seeing the expression on her face, his own softened and he let out a laugh. “Whatever, that’s why I only sing about ‘em, not really study ‘em.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. Buildings and shops passed them without Lucy paying any attention. She was lost in her thoughts until a particular thought struck her.

“How did you get here, Natsu?”

The pink-haired vocalist shrugged. “Walked. Don’t like cars or bikes.”

“You walked? Why don’t you like those things? It makes things easier.”

“Doesn’t work so great cuz I get motion-sickness.”

“We’re not walking all the way to the store, are we?” The city they lived in was quite big and even though Lucy liked her exercise, she didn’t feel like losing her feet. Those were important. How else would she wear pretty shoes and go with Levy to get pedicures from time to time? Come to think of it, her feet were getting pretty tired already and the place they were currently showed no signs of having any kind of stores, much less a phone store.

“Nah, gonna take you somewhere first.”

Wait, so they weren’t going to store, they were going somewhere else? Wait a minute! Lucy had only decided to go with Natsu because she would be getting her phone back. Now he was saying that he was taking her somewhere else? She had been prepared to go to the store to have her unkempt hair, unwashed face, and bagged eyes stared at in the phone store but what if he took her somewhere where they were even more people to gawk at her. No, no no no no no. Lucy dug her heels in.

Natsu, not expecting Lucy to stop walking, was yanked backwards and nearly tumbled on his butt. “What’s the hell, Luce?”

“If you’re taking me somewhere where there’s a lot of people, I’m not going!”

“Will you just trust me a little?” Natsu looked a little annoyed. Man, this woman really needed to trust him a little. He knew that yeah, they weren’t that familiar with each other yet, but at least she could put a tiny bit of faith in him. “We’re almost there anyway.” He gestured to a place in the distance. Wait, was that. . .the lake? He was taking her to the lake?

Lucy hadn’t been there in a long while, ever since she first moved to Magnolia and explored the city on her own and found it by accident. She had stopped and gotten out for only a moment to admire the gleaming water before getting back into her car to find her apartment. Levy had talked about going to the lake from time to time but nothing ever came of it.

Despite the aching feet, the tired legs, when they finally reached the lake, everything else was forgotten. The water glittered, as if stardust had been sprinkled all over the surface just to catch the sun’s rays. The water itself was a deep blue and though they couldn’t see into it, it was still a picturesque scene. There was a rocky trail they could walk on to enjoy the scenery and it was here that Lucy paused to just stare out onto the water.

“Be back!” Natsu said, leaving the blonde alone for a little while. He knew that she could use the time to be alone with her thought for a moment. This also gave him a chance to get it ready. He wandered a ways away and crouched down behind a large rock. 

Lucy only nodded as she continued to stare out at the shimmering surface. It felt so peaceful here, just the wind, the water, and herself. Natsu may not have seemed like it but he really did know exactly what she needed and despite being thickheaded, blunt, and sometimes infuriating, Lucy was grateful to him. He had taken the time out of his own schedule to come and make sure she was okay. He even brought her to a place where she could vent her frustrations. A slight breeze washed over her and she closed her eyes. On a whim, she drew in a big breath before screaming out towards the water. She continued doing it until she was forced to take another breath.

The action, while making her feel silly, really did wonders to lighten her mood. Her body even felt lighter. Taking another deep breath, she screamed again out towards the water until she couldn’t anymore. She didn’t know what came over her but suddenly she was chuckling. Maybe it was just the absurdity of her actions but it did help. 

Hearing footsteps approaching, Lucy turned and smiled when she saw Natsu and a horribly confused expression on his face. “Was that you, Luce?”

“Yep!”

“Hey, you’re smilin’, at least that’s good.”

“I would have preferred to kick and punch someone but it was a good alternative.”

A nervous chuckle came from her pink-haired companion. “Kick and punch who?”

“Well you’re the closest person to me so. . . “ There was no harm in teasing the vocalist, was there?

“Uh…oi, Luce, better think that clearly before ya do anythin’,” Natsu took two steps backwards, holding up his hands in a defensive stance. In one of his hands, he was holding something pink.

Tilting her head to the side, Lucy stared at the object. “What’s that?”

“Huh? Oh,” Natsu’s expression of nervousness and apprehension gave way to his ever wide grin. “For you!” Hurriedly, he grabbed Lucy’s hand, turning it palm up and putting said object into her hands.

She stared at it for a moment. It was heavy for its size. The pink was glossy and looked like it was made out of plastic and on top rested three cat-like charms. She turned it over and a gasp escaped her involuntarily. Staring at her was brand, spanking new phone. She looked from the mobile device to the singer, back to the mobile device and then back to the singer. Had he gotten this for her before he came to see her? How did he know that her favorite color was pink (besides blue)? There was no way he could have picked this out all on his own, could he? “What?” Oh smooth, Lucy. Sound like a complete idiot. She berated herself mentally.

“Told ya I owed ya a phone.”

“You didn’t-“

Natsu held up a hand. “Not gonna hear that crap again. ‘Sides, Levy pitched in.”

“She did?”

“I ain’t made of money, ya know.” Natsu chuckled and bent down to grab a flat rock, throwing it towards the water and watching it skip four or five times before sinking into the depths of the lake.

“So Levy got me the phone and you got me the charms?” Lucy teased, holding up the phone to the three cat charms dangling from the case.

“Oi, I ain’t that cheap but I noticed ya had ‘em on your old phone,” Natsu shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal to buy something like that. Lisanna had some charms on her phone too. Her favorite was the blue one, that he had noticed on Lucy’s phone. They were some kind of popular toy or something called Exceeds. Anthropomorphic cats standing on two legs that could talk. There had been a popular cartoon about it and appealed a lot to the younger women. Some guys were into it too. Natsu liked the blue one himself and named it ‘Happy’ because he always looked happy. Gajeel Iron Butt like the black one but the name he gave it was a little..unusual, Pantherlily. A friend’s kid sister had named the girl cat Carla. 

Natsu was right. Lucy did have all three because she hadn’t been able to choose just one when she had gone to the store with Levy. Levy decided that her phone charms would a stuffed bear holding a book, which Lucy thought appropriate. Lucy herself had thought about getting charms resembling the different zodiacs, her favorites being Leo, Aquarius, and Capricorn. But in the end, the little Exceeds won. Maybe she would go back to get the zodiac charms so she could change them out every so often.

“Thank you, Natsu,” she murmured, clutching the phone to her chest. 

Natsu smiled, a small stain of pink spilling across his cheeks. “Long as ya smile, Luce!”

Lucy couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled forth. It really was hard to be down and depressed when Natsu was around. Maybe they could market his smile as a remedy for feeling blue. Lucy was by no means over her depressed state but for a little while, the sun shined on her again.

Natsu had even been kind enough to walk her home, after she spent enough time at the lake, even offering a piggyback ride when he noticed her slow her pace. She vehemently shook her head and denied that she needed it. Natsu might have looked muscular but he still looked a little scrawny to her. Not to mention the fact that her ample chest weighed a ton each. It was a wonder how Lucy didn’t have more back problems from them. Whoever thought having a big chest was a good thing, was sorely mistaken. She always had to buy a size bigger in clothing just to accommodate and any cute sleeveless dresses were automatically ruled out.

It seemed to be a shorter walk on the way back than it did on the way to the lake because before she knew it, she had already reached her apartment building. 

“Feelin’ a little better?”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah, thanks, Natsu, really.”

“Don’t worry about it. Gotta go though. Lisanna’s been texting asking where I am. Catch ya around, Luce.” With a wave, Natsu ran, holding the phone to his ear. “Yo Lisanna…yeah, on my way!”

Lucy watched as he disappeared around the corner. The little break had been nice but once she was back, reality hit her again. Opening her door, she headed inside. With her new phone, she needed to transfer her contacts and get a hold of Levy. She was sure the bluenette was worried sick and even got Natsu involved.

Sticking her old SIM card into her new phone, she powered it on and waited for it to start up. Making a quick call to activate said phone, the first person she called was Levy.

It didn’t even make it to the second ring before her best friend’s worried voice filtered through the speaker. “LULU! OH MY GOD I WAS SO WORRIED!”

Lucy quickly yanked the phone away from her ear so she didn’t suffer permanent damage. “Uh yeah, sorry Levy.” 

“Geez, I go and you don’t open the door. How did it go with Natsu?”

“He took me to the lake.”

“Oh that’s good. Looks like you got your phone too.”

“Yeah. . .Levy, thank you.”

“What are best friends for? Hey, need me to come over?” Apparently the bluenette was still worried about her and Lucy was grateful once again. She definitely was born under a lucky sign to have found a friend like Levy. And maybe having someone over would be nice. With Levy, she could at least have someone to talk to, someone who understood her situation and who could listen.

“Yeah.”

“Be right over! Oh and I’ve got strawberry cake, a whole one, just for you!”

“You’re sweet Levy.”

“Gimme like twenty minutes. I just have to stuff some clothes in a bag and I’ll be right over.”

“Okay, see you.”

“Bye!”

Lucy went to lay on her bed, staring at her shiny new device. The three Exceeds dangled above her face and she reached out to touch them. Left alone with her thoughts, her mind once more drifted towards Loke. Curled in fetal position, she closed her eyes. The memory of herself in the hallway, the phone call he made to her when he told the other woman it was for work, then the muffled sounds she had heard through the door. She couldn’t help the single tear that escaped as her chest squeezed painfully once more. It was so bad that she even drew her knees up to her chest to try and alleviate some of the pain.

She was a coward. She knew that she didn’t have the courage to confront Loke. No, not yet. It was inevitable that she needed to meet him and discuss what was going on between him and her and him and the other woman. For the sake of her own sanity and her heart, she needed closure, or at the very least, clarity on the situation. From everything that had transpired, it felt like she was stuck in Purgatory, She wasn’t sure which way to go but staying wasn’t an option. It would just take some time.

She would try her best to confront him as soon as possible but she wanted to do it without breaking down, without seeming weak.

Beside her, her phone buzzed as she received a text. Expecting it to be Levy, she quickly checked it.

[Princess, are you alright? I haven’t heard from you. Business trip is taking longer than usual. We’ll talk when I get home.]

Loke.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

What the hell was he doing texting her? And what the hell was he thinking texting her acting as if he really was on a business trip? She found that anger bubbled up amidst all the pain she still felt. Closing the text, she settled back onto her bed, making herself comfortable and again closed his eyes, willing her mind to forget what she just read.

The nerve! She rolled around in bed, squeezing her pillow to her chest. The only good thing she could see from this was that he was still unaware that she knew what was going on. She took a little bit of comfort in knowing that she still had the upper hand. While a part of her felt bad, knowing that she would hurt him, a bigger part of her did not feel bad at all. In fact, that part of her was glad that she could exact some kind of justice, for herself. 

It was still hard for her to believe that she had been duped for so long. Given that Loke’s personality was a flirtatious one, she hadn’t thought that he had the balls to actually act on his impulses. She had been proven oh-so-wrong on that point. 

It was times like these she wished her mother was still alive. Her mother, Layla Heartfilia had died when Lucy was still a child, but she still remembered what she looked like. It was a little uncanny to know that she looked so much like her mother. Lucy sighed, she had been doing that a lot lately, and sat up, grabbing her notebook and a pen. Whenever Lucy went through a hard time, she penned a letter to her mom. It helped ease the burden quite a bit.

Hunkering down, Lucy just let her thoughts flow onto the paper. The ink flowed smoothly and Lucy’s neat, swooping handwriting quickly filled several pages. She poured her heart out onto the paper, letting her mother know everything that had been going on. She noted the fun times with Levy, the first DragonSlayers performance she went to, all the way to her annoyance at Natsu for breaking her phone, her heartache as being betrayed, and finally the calm she felt after having gone to the lake with Natsu. As always, she signed her letter with love and as always, afterwards, she felt better. 

“Thanks, Mom,” she whispered, holding the letters close to her chest for a moment before folding them up carefully. Reaching for her special box, she opened it and carefully placed the letters inside. The box was a simple wooden box with a heart carved on the lid. It had been her mother’s when she was alive and it was one of the few mementos that she still had. Hearing a knock at the door, she left the box on her bed and went to answer it.

“Lulu! Hurry up!”

Levy. Right on time. Opening her door, Lucy watched as Levy made a beeline for the bathroom. “Uh, Levy?”

“Talk later.” 

Lucy chuckled softly at her friend’s antics. Leave it up to Levy to be so preoccupied about getting here that she would even wait to go to the bathroom. While her friend was taking care of her business, Lucy took it upon herself to bring in Levy’s overnight bag. Maybe it would be a good idea to start leaving a couple items of clothing at Levy’s and Levy could do the same at her place so they could just sty over without needing to worry about a change of clothes. Setting the bag on her bed, she closed the box and set it back on its place on the bookshelf.

“Writing again, Lulu?” Levy walked into the bedroom just as Lucy turned around. She hadn’t even heard Levy come in!

“Yeah, I thought I’d tell Mom what’s going on.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“A little. The trip to the lake helped.”

Levy smirked. “Aha! So a visit from Natsu always helps huh?”

Lucy shook her head. “Levy. . .Natsu and I are just friends. Besides, he has a girlfriend.”

The bluenette scrunched up her face. “Yeah I know.” In fact, she had seen Natsu’s girlfriend a couple of times at some of their performances. She had been a short, petite, white-haired, blue-eyed beauty and her face had a gentleness to it which told Levy that she probably was a nice person. Regardless, she wasn’t really pushing Natsu and Lucy together. . . okay just a little but it was mostly teasing. She knew that Natsu was probably good for Lucy since he seemed to be so blunt and didn’t mince his words at all. He was all around happy-go-lucky most of the time and especially in times like these, Levy knew it was beneficial for Lucy to be around someone like that. “Hey Lucy?”

Lucy looked to her friend, waiting for her question. “Yeah?”

“Wanna talk about it?” Levy had to be careful how she asked her questions. She didn’t want to push Lucy into a depressive state again. The past few days had been tough when the blonde and even ignored her best friend. It almost killed Levy that she could do nothing to help ease her friend’s pain. They were almost like sisters and when once was hurting, the other hurt alongside. 

There was a moment of silence before Lucy spoke. “Levy. . .do you know what it feels like to have your heart put into a blender with the speed set to high? Then take that beat up heart, stomp on it, rub salt into the wounds, stomp on it some more before throwing it into the ocean. That’s what I feel like right now.” Levy didn’t really know because her breakups had all been mutual and amicable. She stayed quiet after shaking her head ‘no’. It took Lucy several deep breaths before she could start.

“Loke. . . he’s been seeing some other woman…I went to his place after you told me. I heard him telling her he had to make a phone call. I was hiding when he called from the hallway. He called me and. . .told me that he was going on a business trip.” Tears pricked the corner or her eyes but she forced them back. She had shed enough tears over this, over him. She then told Levy how she had heard the sounds through the door and after that, she just fell apart.

The blue-haired bookworm listened intently, unconsciously balling her hands into fists. She had never wanted to punch anyone so badly in her life, except maybe that bully in elementary who stole her crayons and then broke them! On purpose! Her gut feelings about Loke had been right. Lucy had been too good for him and now her friend was suffering because he couldn’t keep it in his pants!

“Ooh, I’m gonna punch him so hard his ancestors will feel it!”

“Levy. . .that’s a quote from a movie. . .”

“Yeah but it fits!” Movie or not, it was a genius line and it was perfect for this scenario. Yeah, Loke may have been good-looking but that didn’t give him the rights to act like a douchebag and even less of a reason for him to act like a scumbag. Especially when Lucy was his girlfriend, Levy knew that Loke had zero excuses. 

Lucy had always gone out of her way for her boyfriend. She knew that her best friend stayed up in the late hours keeping him company when he had been stuck at work. Lucy always tried to make something for Loke to try and even went over to his apartment after a long day of school to make sure he came home to a hot meal, even if it was just take-out from the local pizzeria or Chinese restaurant. Levy knew that Lucy even helped clean his apartment and drew a bath. The blonde was one of the best girlfriends to ever have. 

Levy also saw that Lucy worried about Loke and constantly thought about him but because she was so kindhearted and thoughtful, she tried to limit her interference with Loke’s daily life as much as possible. There had been countless times where she saw Lucy playing with her phone and argued with herself back and forth about whether or not to call him or text him. Most of the time, it ended up with her tossing her phone to the far side of the bed and engrossed herself in her books or whatever movie they were going to watch that night.

Caring, thoughtful, pretty Lucy just had to meet a dirtbag like Loke. He really didn’t deserve Lucy. The blonde was much better off now that she saw him for who he really was.

Lucy could see that Levy was still steamed, it was practically pouring out of her ears. Reaching over, she pulled her best friend into a hug. “Thanks Levy,” she murmured. “For being my best friend.”

Levy just stared for a moment before her expression softened and she hugged her friend back, tightly. “Forever til the stars stop shining!” She could feel wetness dripping onto her shoulder and she just held Lucy, patting her back softly. 

Lucy swore that she wouldn’t cry anymore but the hug from her best friend felt so good that her resolve broke and down came the dam. The tears flowed freely once more, a crystalline river full of pain, doubt, regret, and guilt. Pain from having learned about her boyfriend the way that she did. Doubt about her feelings and her actions henceforth. Regret having been dragged on so long by Loke and finally guilt about her cowardice at facing Loke. She was stronger than she felt. She had to be independent at a relatively young age and could take care of herself. It had been a little bit of a challenge when Loke stepped into the picture and wanted to protect her and take care of her instead. She had to learn to give up some of her control and when she did, she felt like she was relying too much on Loke. The latter had said it was fine and that it was what he had wanted.

In hindsight, giving up the control and relying on him, it created a void that Lucy wasn’t quite sure how to fill it just yet. She would figure it out when she went to have a talk with Loke. Oh right, the text. . .Lucy pulled back and wiped her eyes, sniffling. “He sent me a text right before you got here. He said he’s still on the trip and wants to see me when he gets back.”

Levy’s eyes became stormy. “He’s not even on a business trip!”

“I don’t know. . .” Lucy hadn’t really cared at the time. Maybe he really did have one, just he wanted to have sex with his other girlfriend first.

“What, you think he really left?”

“I don’t know anymore.” She had thought she knew the man and look where that landed her; broken-hearted and played like a cheap violin.

“Whatever. Deal with it when you want to,” Levy said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Right now, let’s just focus on Operation: Make Lucy Smile!”

“We aren’t in the military, there’s no such operation.”

“Lulu! You are such a sour octopus!”

“Uh…isn’t it sourpuss?”

“. . .TICKLE ATTACK!” The bluenette lunged at the curvaceous blonde, knocking her backwards, hands tickling her mercilessly on her sides. Lucy was a very ticklish person but she kept that fact only to herself and Levy. Anyone else would use it to their advantage and it was a dangerous weakness. Lucy squirmed under Levy’s assault until her own hands found their way onto Levy’s sides and she started her counterattack. A squeal from Levy told Lucy that it was working. The both of them didn’t let up until they both fell into a pile of giggles.

Laughter really was the best medicine.

***

Natsu lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, his hands resting beneath his head. He had heard from Luce’s friend that something happened with her boyfriend. Natsu had to say that he was surprised that Lucy had a boyfriend, even though realistically it wasn’t that much of a stretch. Lucy was good looking and any guy would be stupid to turn down what she had. He wasn’t just talking about her body but the qualities she possessed. Even though he hadn’t known her for very long, Natsu could already tell what kind of person she was and he liked it. It was really reminiscent of Lisanna but while Lisanna was caring and gentle like the moon, Lucy seemed to glow like the sun.

Despite only knowing certain things about Lucy, Natsu already considered her a close friend. He was like that. He made friends with anyone and everyone. He was goofy and messed around a lot but if anyone dared to hurt his friends, there would be hell to pay. It was the same for his bandmates. They were kind of like a dysfunctional family but in their dysfunction, they were perfect.

Laxus was definitely the older brother in the group, exerting control if any of them stepped too far out of line. Natsu wasn’t ever going to admit it to the Lightning Rod but it aged him. Whatever though because Laxus was still as popular with the girls as the rest of them. Natsu had tried to pull pranks on Laxus but for whatever reason, they always seemed to backfire horribly. Maybe the drummer had some kind of magical shield or something. Natsu one time had scurried across the carpeted floor, building up the static electricity. Grinning, he waited until Laxus walked out and went to touch the spikey blond. Laxus’ longer legs carried him faster across the room and Natsu ended up touching the metal on the doorknob which jolted him pretty good. Gray had walked in after and laughed at him, teasing him about his hair, which had been sticking straight up, just like Laxus’.

Gajeel was the weird one in the group and Natsu was sure that he liked eating rocks. That was the only explanation of why every time the bassist cooked, everything was as hard as a rock. Rice and noodles were still crunchy and eggs were blackened until they were unrecognizable. Bread was tooth-chipping to say the least, and that had been store-bought. Gajeel had effectively been banned from the kitchen.

Gray was the annoying brother. He and Natsu were the one that constantly got into fights. When they were younger, Natsu had accidentally set Gray’s pants on fire and the keyboardist had gotten him back by throwing frozen water balloons at the lead singer, one hitting him in the head hard enough to knock him out for a few minutes. From then on, they pulled pranks on each other whenever they could. The latest one, Natsu had poured an entire bottle of hot sauce into Gray’s bottle of fruit punch and watched, while clutching his sides in laughter, as the keyboardist proceeded to down a whole gallon of water to try and quell the fire.

Natsu chuckled at all the reminiscing. Lisanna had been part of their little group since they were small. She always tagged along with Natsu no matter where he would go. Natsu always thought of Lisanna as being a part of his life. When they had been little kids, barely in elementary school, Lisanna had been bullied by some punk who thought it was funny to grab her coloring page and rip it in half. Natsu made sure to rip his page back and then gave Lisanna his own page to color. It was then that Lisanna blurted out that she wanted to be Natsu’s wife when they grew up. Natsu, wanting her to stop crying, grinned and agreed to do exactly that if she’d stop. It had worked. 

At that time, it wasn’t a big deal but as they grew older, Natsu had started to see Lisanna as more of a sister than a potential girlfriend. But then Lisanna disappeared for seven years, her family moved away and she went to study somewhere else. She had come back after those seven years and the first thing she had asked, after giving him a big hug, was if he remembered their promise. Natsu had been stunned to see her after so long since he had no idea that she had even come back to Magnolia. It had been right around the time they started up the DragonSlayers.

“Natsuuuuuuuu!” 

Something small and white came barreling towards him and hit him square in the chest. Natsu was forced back a few steps, his arms automatically grabbing at whatever, or whoever, assaulted him. “What the-! “ He looked down and a pair of very familiar blue eyes looked back up at him. “Lisanna?!”

A giggle came from his childhood friend. “Yup!”

The pink-haired vocalist grinned back. “Ya didn’t even tell me you were comin’ back.”

“I wanted to surprise you! See? I’m all grown up now!” She pulled away to spin in a full circle so Natsu could see how tall she had grown.

“You did grow taller!’

“You did too!”

“Welcome back, Lisanna!”

“Thanks Natsu.”

It wasn’t long after they had reunited did Lisanna officially become his girlfriend. There were no questions like ‘Wanna be my girlfriend?’, it was more of a mutual understanding that they were now “going out.” The actual event had been when Natsu and the rest of the band had a rough night and Lisanna had been there to comfort him and cheer him up. Natsu had asked if Lisanna was okay with them being together and Lisanna had just smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

Natsu rolled over onto his side, staring at his guitar which sat directly across from his bed. His mind drifted from memories to the present. A part of him wondered if the blonde was doing okay. Lucy had seemed like she had a lot pent up. It wasn’t good to keep it all inside; she’d probably explode! But at least when he left her, she seemed to be in a better mood.

He grinned to himself. Getting that phone had been a really good idea. So it really did mean Levy was Lucy’s best friend because she knew exactly what Lucy needed. The blue-haired student was a little pushy when it came to picking things out (man she insisted that he come along and even reprimanded him when he said she should give Lucy the phone) but he had to hand it to her that she knew what would make her friend smile.

Natsu and Levy had seriously spent the afternoon shopping for a new phone (with each paying for half of it). Natsu was never one to like shopping. Yes, he did accompany Lisanna on her shopping trips most of the time, but Lisanna wasn’t a big shopper. And Lisanna certainly wasn’t Levy. Apparently the woman had it in her mind to get an exact replacement, even going so far as getting her phone charms. Women and their phone charms! Natsu understood if it was just one but three? Wasn’t it annoying? Bah, he would never understand women and their ‘oh my god it’s so cute!’ on every single thing.

He had to admit that the Exceeds were a little cute and he could see the appeal it had on girls but wasn’t a real cat even better? Maybe he would get a blue cat and name it Happy. Then, for fun, he would give it wings and stand it up on two legs. A real Happy, not a stuffed animal one. He was sure Gajeel wouldn’t mind one. He had seen the bassist’s lingering glances when they walked by a petshop at the kittens. Natsu had teased him about it and all he got in return was a gruff ‘shut up’. Ah well, the important thing was getting that smile back on Lucy’s face. He didn’t do well with crying, especially crying females. He was awkward and wasn’t too sure what to do.

Natsu had only heard a little from what Levy told her. Something about her bastard of a boyfriend cheating on her. Even though Natsu wasn’t the best boyfriend, he was actual clueless on a lot of things, he knew that cheating was never okay. No matter what the situation was. A growl escaped the vocalist. Lucy’s boyfriend needed some sense knocked into him and needed a be taught a lesson.

“Yo, flame breath.” Stupid Gray had to pick this time to show up and annoy him.

“What do you want, ice prick?” Natsu turned to find the keyboardist walking around in his birthday suit. It was strange habit that Natsu wasn’t sure where he had picked it up from but some of their fans seemed to like it. A lot. 

“Laxus wanted us to have a meeting.”

Natsu groaned. It was either a meeting discussing their schedule or someone was getting a lightning bolt to the ass, meaning Laxus wasn’t happy about something. Natsu hoped it was the former. Last time Laxus lightning bolted Natsu’s ass for skipping practice. 

The eldest member of the group hated when they slacked off. They all had to work hard to make a name for themselves and they were getting somewhere. Laxus wasn’t about to let a lack of discipline hurt their chances at making it big. Laxus wasn’t a stick in the mud by any means. He enjoyed the occasional day off himself. He could finally get some time to himself. Despite his popularity with the ladies, he wasn’t attached to anyone yet and he would rather be by himself than associate with those just trying to get into his pants. He had standards.

Natsu pushed himself up with a sigh. It was better now than later to go see what Laxus wanted. “Oi, ice ass.”

“What, flametard?”

“Put on some clothes. No one wants to see that!”

“Oh shit! Where’re my clothes?!”

Dumbass.

Both Natsu and, a now clothed, Gray trudged down the stairs, fighting over who would be first. They still had childish competitions that would often get on Laxus’ nerves but they were too stubborn to let it go. 

Laxus was already waiting for them in the living room. They all stayed at Laxus’ grandfather’s house, one Makarov Dreyar. Since the old man was constantly at the Academy, they had the house to themselves. All they needed to take care of was the shopping and occasionally cleaning. A house with four guys tended to get pretty dirty pretty quickly. Laxus’ room was the exception. He was meticulous about everything so his room never needed attention, apart from the occasional vacuuming but that was it. 

Natsu’s room was constantly hit by a hurricane. There were wrappers everywhere, papers strewn all about, and pencils hidden within the mountain of papers ready to jab an unsuspecting foot. Everyone one had been a victim of The Pencil at one point or another. No matter the amount of nagging, Natsu rarely picked up anything. To him, there was a meticulousness to the chaos. A controlled chaos that only made sense to Natsu.

Gray’s room looked like a tornado hit it. Most of it was sheet music but he did own quite a collection of water bottles too. There was one space in the middle of his floor that was devoid of anything. He used this space to practice some dance moves, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. 

Gajeel’s room was full of weights. The man had a problem with working out, and even lifted when they had a meeting. Natsu seriously thought Gajeel was in love with iron. Maybe he would end up marrying his weights. It would be a hilarious wedding.

“Yo Laxus, what are we meeting for?” Natsu plopped himself on the loveseat, making sure there was no room for anyone else to sit. Laxus was sitting on a recliner. Gray made himself comfortable on the three-seater, putting his feet up on the coffee table. Gajeel took the seat on the other side of the three seater a few moments later. It was apparent from his sweaty face that he had been training with his weights again. Yep, wedding with the weights. Iron weight babies.

The eldest member cleared his throat. “We’re doing a gig at the university.”

“The university? Something happening?” Gray asked.

“Open Campus.”

Open Campus was one weekend every year where various clubs would put on performances out on the quad and there were mini-games to play for prizes. There were food stalls from the various student associations as well as local restaurants. It was almost like a small festival held on campus and everyone from the city was invited to attend. The DragonSlayers were invited to be one of the musical guests.

“Cool! Now we can pretend to go there,” Natsu said, grinning.

“Yeah cuz we all know you’re too dumb to actually go,” Gray said with a smirk.

Natsu bristled. “Say that again, ice stripper!”

“You. Too. Dumb. To. Go.” Gray said, enunciating each word. “Flamebrain.”

Natsu was about to jump over the table and smack his fist right into Gray’s face when Laxus cleared his throat. “It’s in a week.” The tone of his voice couldn’t be any clearer. ‘Practice your asses off or else.’

“We got this, better get workin’ on those lyrics though,” Gajeel piped up. 

“I’ve got half of one. . .” Natsu muttered. There really wasn’t inspiration to keep going but he would have to find some, soon. Okay, maybe right now. A week wasn’t that much time to put together a show.

“So why are you all still sitting here?” came Laxus’ response. It took maybe 0.23 seconds for the room to clear. Laxus let out a tiny smirk. It was good to be leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave comments!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The atmosphere on campus was full of excitement and anticipation for Open Campus. Lucy walked through the campus and noticed all the banners and flyers posted up around the buildings already. The school newspaper was already advertising many of the activities that would be there and even promoting some of the musical acts that would take the stage. Out of curiosity, she picked up a school newspaper to see just what would be happening. Levy had wanted to go since they missed out the last year. Levy had gotten sick and Lucy was over taking care of her. This would be the year to go. 

Originally, she had wanted to bring Loke so they could spend the day checking out some of the booths and overall enjoy a good time with each other. She knew that Loke had graduated from the same campus earlier and so she also had been looking forward to even taking a trip down memory with Loke. She had a whole scenario in her head where they would walk arm in arm and Loke would be telling her stories of his time at the university.

Lucy almost let out a bitter laugh. It was just a scene in her mind and now, it would remain there forever. She still hadn’t replied to Loke’s text and still hadn’t taken his calls. She couldn’t blame him for lack of trying (so far). She knew that she couldn’t hide away forever. Eventually, she would have to face him. She had gone over what she would say to him time and time again but each time, she felt the hurt tear at her again, the anger would bubble forth and she would have tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes. She was getting better at controlling it, though so she would see him, soon.

She still wasn’t sure what she would do afterwards; she hadn’t thought that far yet. Maybe she would call Levy, maybe she would just be by herself. She hadn’t thought about where to talk to him. His apartment would bring back too many memories. She wouldn’t be able to look at any piece of furniture in quite the same way and certainly nothing in his bedroom. Her place, she didn’t want him at her place anymore. She made a mental note to ask for her key back, which needed a place somewhere in their discussion. The beginning? The end? Somewhere in the middle? Why did breaking up have to be so hard? No, it wasn’t that hard but she was making it harder than it needed to be. She was overanalyzing every aspect of the deed when all she needed to say was “It’s over.”

Ugh, get it together, Lucy! Stop avoiding the issue. Loke’s a jerk. He deserves to be chewed out and maybe given one of your famous Lucy Kicks! Her brain made sense, she had to hand it some credit. Lucy wasn’t a fighter by nature but when cornered or hurt, she turned into a hellcat. Back in high school, a guy just wasn’t getting the hint that she wasn’t interested in him. He cornered her one time and she had delivered swift justice, namely in the form of a Lucy Kick, which was aimed directly at his nuts. He never bothered her again after that.

Actually, after that, no one really bothered her period.

“LULU!!”

The blonde yelped and jumped three feet in the air. Her friend really had a way of making herself known. “L-Levy?”

“Hiya!” The every cheerful and sunny bluenette held up a hand in greeting. Lucy could tell that her friend had just come out of the library. Her backpack was bulging, as it always was, when she raided for books. Lucy was sure that her friend would finish all the books before the writers had new ones to publish. Lucy already knew how much it took to start writing and the amount of research that needed to be done before and during the writing process. Inspiration was another facet that needed to be firmly in place or else the story would go nowhere. Lucy hated writer’s block and it always struck right when she reached a critical junction. Talk about frustrating!

“I see you raided the library again,” Lucy pointed out.

“Yup! One of the books I wanted to read just came in.”

“That looks like more than one book. . .”

“How can you just choose one?! Books are everything! They’re even better than a boyfriend! They take you places you could never go before, they talk about interesting people you could never meet, and even abilities you could never have!”

Lucy just stared at her friend. “Uh Levy…I think you might have a slight obsession with them.”

Levy looked back at her friend, a crazed glint in her eyes and an even crazier laugh. Lucy swore she could see lightning behind her friend. It was gone within a minute and Levy just smiled. “So, did you hear?”

“What? I hear a lot of stuff, Levy, every day in lecture.”

“Not that! About Open Campus!” Something seemed to be terribly exciting to Levy so Lucy just waited for her friend to finish. Whatever it was, the bluenette was ready to explode. “The DragonSlayers are performing!!”

Lucy laughed at her friend. Levy had to be their number one fan. She was sure that somewhere in her friend’s room, there would be a poster, made by Levy and then blown up. She couldn’t really wonder how Levy managed to stay in one piece when they went to see the band perform. If Levy was less modest, she would probably be one of those crazy bra-throwing, underwear-tossing fans Lucy had always seen in news reports. No, that image was just too crazy.

“What, so you can see Piercings again?”

Levy turned red and fervently shook her head. “N-no way! Just we know Natsu so, so you know. . .” The bluenette was cute when she was flustered. Leave it up to cute Levy to like a guy who looked like a bad ass. Maybe that saying was true, that girls always fell for bad boys.

“Riiiiiiiight.”

“Lulu!! Oh yeah? Well how about you and Natsu huh?”

Lucy just stared at Levy. “What about me and Natsu?”

“Don’t act dumb. I know he texts you every day!”

It was Lucy’s turn to blush. Why was it when Levy mentioned Natsu, her mind kept getting weird thoughts? Why was it that her mind was weird and always flashed back to that first time they had met and he had held her hand? The dream she had after that had been weird too. Why was everything weird when it was about Natsu?! 

“He texts you too.” Oh great, Lucy, make this into a childish argument. Lucy mentally berated herself for the response that just slipped out.

Levy gave a Cheshire cat-like grin. “No he doesn’t. I can prove it.” She pulled out her phone and unlocked it, scrolling through until she came to the text conversations with Natsu. “See?” Lucy leaned forward to look at the conversations. Most of the time they were short texts saying ‘hi’ and ‘what’s up’, or in Natsu’s case ‘wat’s up’. But aside from that, there weren’t many other texts. The last text had been two days ago. “Now yours.”

Crap. Lucy knew better than to challenge Levy. She hesitantly pulled out her phone. The phone that Natsu and Levy had so kindly replaced for her. The three Exceed charms clattered against the plastic case as she held out her phone for Levy. It was over. Natsu was nice enough to text her, mostly just to see how she was doing and to update her on some of the stupid things that his bandmates were doing. Most of the updates were about Gray losing his clothes yet again and embarrassing himself. The texts were harmless and made Lucy smile. She had to admit that he was good at that; making her smile.

Levy grabbed the phone, already knowing the passcode to get in. She knew Lucy too well to guess every single one of her passwords, even the one for her computer. Lucy didn’t mind. She had nothing to hide. The worst that ever happened was Levy finding an embarrassing picture of Lucy, when she had been in middle school and still wore a unicorn sweater on picture day. Levy had gotten a good laugh out of it but that had been it. Lucy closed her eyes and just waited. “AHA! I knew it!!” 

Double crap.

“Levy. . .”

“What’s this? ‘Yo, just seein’ if you’re okay.’” Oh geez, did she have to read it out loud? And did she have to do such a terrible impression of him while doing it? “ ‘Yeah, I’m doing okay, thanks. How’re you?’” Oh great, now she was doing a crappy impression of her.

“Levy. . .”

“’Lucy, marry me?’ ‘Of course, Natsu! Mwah mwah mwah!” This was getting out of hand. She and Natsu never texted stuff like that! Lucy reached and swiped her phone back from her friend as said friend was doubled over in laughter.

“Levy!”

Levy took a moment to compose herself, wiping the tears from laughing so hard. Was it really that funny? “Lulu, just have babies with Natsu already.”

What the. . .? Where did that come from?! “W-what?”

“They’d be cute. . .and I’d be an aunt!”

“He has a girlfriend!”

Levy stared at the blonde for a minute before double over in laughter again. “Lulu…your face…” Laughter dissolved the rest of the sentence but Lucy knew already. She was being teased but it didn’t stop her face from turning an even brighter shade of red.

“I’m going home!”

“Wait, Lulu!” Levy grabbed Lucy’s arm. “Sorry, sorry, but your face was too funny.” Levy gave her a half-hug and a mock pout. “Don’t be mad.”

Lucy gave a mock glare before starting to walk away again. “Hmph. . .” Lucy wasn’t really mad. She could never be that mad at Levy, especially when she knew how the bluenette was and knew her sense of humor.

“Luluuuuuu. . .”

Lucy sighed and chuckled. “I’m not mad. But I was serious about getting home. I still have to get shopping done.” Being a shopaholic was a full time job in itself, in addition to being a full time student. She needed to stock up on snack foods for upcoming finals, extra coffee and tea were a must and she knew Levy guzzled coffee like crazy during finals. She also wanted to get something nice for Natsu. He had been kind enough to get her the phone charms that she had to give him something back. Yes, he had broken her phone but he had paid for the phone and then added charms on top of that. It couldn’t have been cheap so she would get him something back. It was just hard to shop for guys.

Girls, it was easy. A pair of earrings, a new outfit, some cute shoes. Or for some girls like Levy, a whole book set. But for guys, it was a whole different ball game. She didn’t know too much about Natsu. Just that he always wore that interesting scarf. She was sure that he wouldn’t accept another scarf. Besides, maybe his girlfriend had gotten for him and she certainly did not want to step on any toes. But what did guys like? Natsu probably wasn’t someone who wanted something like cologne and she couldn’t see him wearing a tie much less using cufflinks. Hair gel? Or would that be too cheap? Or…aw hell, she didn’t know. She would have to give it more thought.

“Want me to come along?”

“No, it’s just some easy stuff I need to get. But if you want, come over for dinner or something.”

“Ooh, what are you making?” Levy’s eyes started to glitter. Anything Lucy made was bound to taste good.

“Ramen.”

It was almost hilarious the way that the bluenette’s face fell. “No thank you.” She would have gone for cabbage soup if Lucy was the one that made it, but she didn’t want to fall behind in her work. More importantly, her precious books were waiting for her.

Lucy giggled. “Suit yourself. You’ll be missing out!” 

“Doubt that!”

“’Kay, so are we still getting together later this week to do movie night?”

“You betcha!” Their weekly movie nights were always their way of distressing at the end of the week. They’d get together, alternating weeks at each other’s places and watch whatever they were in the mood to watch. Except gore. They had made that mistake once and the both of them ended up staying awake until morning before exhaustion finally claimed them and they fell into a dreamless sleep. Both Lucy and Levy vowed never to pick any gory movies. Scary movies were still okay, except for the one about the mirrors. No, just no. After that movie, Lucy and Levy had been scared to go to the bathroom because they didn’t want their reflections to kill them.

Yeah, so no creepy scary mirror movies. Ever again. Maybe they could settle for a romantic comedy, or even an action movie. 

Hugging her friend good-bye, Lucy hurried to the car. She was looking forward to de-stressing by perusing the mall for hours, mostly window shopping but occasionally going into a store if something caught her eye.

The drive home at been relatively uneventful, except for a careless driver that clearly thought a yellow signal meant ‘speed up’, instead of ‘slow down’. So while her light was turning green, he decided to run the light and she almost collided with him, if not for her superior braking. She managed to get home, heart pounding just a little faster.

She didn’t know that it would pound just a bit faster still when she got home.

Her plan was to drop off her books, quickly grab a jacket and stuff her wallet and phone into her purse and walking right back out to head to the mall. It was still the middle of the week so she knew that there wouldn’t be that many people. If she was lucky, she could finish her errands in time to cook herself a better meal than the ramen she had told Levy. Opening the door to her apartment, something immediately seemed off.

On high alert, Lucy cautiously tiptoed in and noticed a pair of shoes. They were clearly not hers since they were men’s shoes. Men’s shoes. There was only one man who had access to her apartment.

“Hey princess.”

Lucy jumped at the voice. She had not been expecting him at her apartment at all. Then again, he could have made an announcement in his messages but she hadn’t bothered to check. Unconsciously, she backed away towards the door. No, he couldn’t be here right now. She wasn’t ready. She didn’t want to see him. The pain was too fresh still and if she confronted him, it would turn into a mess.

“D-don’t. . .” She hated how weak her voice sounded. She hated how it seemed to crack without him doing anything.

“What’s wrong? I tried calling and texting but you weren’t responding. I was worried so I came to check up on you.” Loke had his arms extended out towards her.

Had she been none-the-wiser, she would have fallen for that, would have willingly jumped into his arms. But that wasn’t the case. She knew exactly what he was doing; knew exactly who he was doing. She grasped the strap to her backpack a little more tighter. “Get out.” Her voice quavered but her tone was clear.

“Lucy, princess, I know you’re upset that I had to leave-“

“Get out!” Lucy’s voice was firm this time and she glared at her former lover. His handsome face, which she once swooned over when he got close now sickened her. All she could think about was what those sounds had meant that day she had gone to the apartment. His apartment. With that woman. The one Levy had described. 

“What’s wrong, Lucy? I come back and you tell me get out?”

Lucy did not want to see any more of his act. She did not want to hear his voice anymore. She just wanted him to leave and never come back. She was done. Through. Her mother had always said that the right man would treat her right, never lie to her, respect her, and lover her for who she was. For three long years, she thought Loke was the one. He had been such a gentleman. He treated her well, made her feel loved. But all that had been shattered. 

Trust took a lifetime to earn and only one second to destroy.

“Just get out! I don’t want to see you!”

 

“Lucy.” His voice tried to be gentle, tried to be comforting. Seeing her trembling, on the verge of tears tugged a little at his heartstrings. He did the only thing he could think of that would calm her down; hug her. 

But it seemed to have the opposite effect. The blonde threw herself away from him, scrambling to get out of his way. Her bag dropped to the floor with a ‘thump’ but she ignored it. Somehow, she managed to maneuver herself and yank the door open with one hand while simultaneously pushing him out with the other. “Out! Don’t ever come back!”

“Lucy!” Loke grabbed both her wrists and held tight. His eyes narrowed. She was acting weirdly and lashing out for no apparent reason. Hazel stared deep into chocolate. 

“Let go.” Lucy said through her gritted teeth. She tried to pull her wrists but Loke held fast. “Let go!” Yanking hard, Lucy was sure that would have bruises, which meant wearing long sleeved shirts until they disappeared. It would look bad enough but the questions from Levy would be worse.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

Lucy glared at him again. Those once warm chocolate eyes now glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill, Loke would surely be dead twice over. “I don’t ever want to see you again! Don’t ever come near me! Let go!!” Her mind was completely blank. She only knew that she didn’t want to be anywhere near the ginger right now.

“Stop. Calm down.” He had never seen her act like this, not even when she was super stressed out about school. He was kind of at a loss. 

His words seemed to have some kind of effect. Lucy bit her lip, head lowered, bangs falling over her eyes, shielding Loke from seeing the tears that fell. “Just get out.” The momentary burst of energy seemed to leave her and it left her feeling more drained. Her legs felt wobbly and she sank to her knees, her wrists still held tight by Loke.

“Lucy. . .”

“Yo Luce!” A familiar voice called out her name. Lucy didn’t look up. She didn’t have the energy. The only reason she was still upright was because of Loke. “Hey, ya got anything to ea-“ a pause and then. “What the fuck is going on?”

Loke just stared at the pink-haired male that had called out to Lucy so easily and so familiarly. As far as he was concerned, Loke didn’t know of any other males that Lucy let into her house, much less brought them around. He was the only one with the key and he knew the only person that frequented her apartment, other than himself, was the bluenette, Levy. So who the hell was this guy? Clearing his throat, Loke asked, with his eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

“Natsu Dragneel. You are?”

Some nerve this kid had. “Loke Regulus. Lucy’s boyfriend.” Loke found himself standing a little taller.

“No,” came the weak reply from Lucy.

Loke turned his attention back to Lucy. Now he was confused. “What?”

“No,” came Lucy’s voice, louder and her tone firmer. She lifted her head, eyes blazing. “You’re not.”

“’Not’ what?”

Lucy tried once again to pull her wrists from Loke’s grasp. “You’re not my boyfriend!”

Was Lucy crazy? Did she hit her head and get amnesia because she made no sense ever since she had walked into the apartment and seen him there. He wasn’t supposed to be there, he knew that but he had tried multiple times to get a hold of her and she hadn’t been replying. This sudden shift was strange since the blonde liked to text him at least once a day to see how he was doing. “Princess, what are you saying?”

“Y-You betrayed me! There’s someone else!”

Loke froze. He had just gotten back from his mini-vacation with her. But Lucy couldn’t possibly know that. He had been discreet, ensuring that his excuses were plausible. It was his lie wrapped in a truth. Most of the time he did have extra work that needed to be taken care of, but he never told Lucy that he was working with someone else. “…What nonsense are you saying? You’re just tired from stress, aren’t you?” His grip tightened around Lucy’s wrists causing the blonde to cry out.

One moment, Loke had been standing, holding Lucy and the next minute, he found himself sitting outside the door. There was a dull ache on his butt so he must’ve fell. Using a moment to collect his bearings, hazel eyes fell on the sight in front of him. Natsu Dragneel was holding Lucy, his Lucy and giving him a death glare. That wasn’t what killed him. What killed him was seeing his girlfriend clinging so desperately to the other male. Loke found himself growling. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Natsu growled back. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You were hurting her.” Natsu couldn’t stand his friends being hurt, especially if it was a male trying to hurt a female. That was just wrong. He could see that Lucy didn’t want to be near this man, her supposed boyfriend, for whatever reason. “Think you should get going.”

Loke stood up, brushing off his pants and his suit jacket. “Not until she’s safe.”

Natsu looked back at him, eyes narrowed. He indicated with his chin that with his arms around the blonde and the blonde with her face in his chest, she was plenty safe. “You don’t worry about that. I got her. Leave before you make her more upset.”

“Punk, you have no authority to tell me what to do.”

“As Lucy’s friend, I do. ‘Specially if you’re hurtin’ her. Now I ain’t askin’ again. Get out before I hurt you for real.”

Loke could almost laugh at the absurdity. Sure, the boy was muscular but Loke hat the height advantage. He was skilled enough in fighting but he never really bad to use it. His hands clenched into fists and he was ready for a brawl, but his eyes landed on Lucy again. The pathetic scene forced him to relax his hands again and sigh. He hadn’t come here looking for a fight or an argument. He just wanted to see what was going on with Lucy. Clearly something was bothering her and he would have to come around again when the Pink Boy Wonder wasn’t here acting like a hero. “Fine. Lucy! We’ll talk some other time. Alone.”

He had felt bad that he was going behind his girlfriend’s back, mainly because she was such a wonderful person. She was caring, considerate, funny, and of course beautiful. But even after three years of being with her, Loke still felt like she wasn’t The One. He lay awake night after night, thinking about when would have been the best time to tell Lucy but that time never came up. Lucy wasn’t someone who wanted to prolong an argument. She wanted to let out all the steam before they went to bed at night so the next morning, they could begin anew and his chances dwindled. Now it looked like he would have to step it up.

Turning on his heel, Loke walked away, glancing backwards only once to catch a final glimpse of Lucy.

Once Lucy heard the receding footsteps, she buried her face deeper into Natsu’s chest and let her feelings pour out all at once. She had been frightened, confused, and so unready for Loke. Her tears soaked into the fabric of Natsu’s shirt but the pink-haired singer didn’t mind. Lucy needed him right now. 

Slowly, his arms came around Lucy’s smaller frame, tugging her closer. They sat on the floor but Natsu didn’t care. His hand came to rest on her back. Lucy let out a choked sob and her hands bunched the material of Natsu’s shirt. Natsu and Lucy stayed like that for a while. 

“Sorry Natsu. . .”

“Nah, don’t be. I got ya, Luce.” His hand rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. “I’m right here.”

From behind the wall of tears, a smile graced her lips. Thank you, Natsu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

When Lucy’s tears had dried and her trembling had ceased, she finally lifted her head from Natsu’s chest. Using her hands to quickly wipe the remains of her tear-streaked face, Lucy held a hand to her eyes. 

“Ugh, I’m a mess.”

Natsu just grinned. “Yeah. You’re gonna have raccoon eyes!” That comment earned him a smack.

“Shut up, I know.” Lucy ran to her bathroom and saw how puffy and red her eyes were. She turned on the faucet and splashed a little cold water to try and get rid of some of the redness. She took a few moment to compose herself before going back to where Natsu still sat. 

Natsu stood up and brushed of his pants. “That really your boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend,” she corrected the vocalist. There was no way in hell she was going to continue that relationship. Absently, she went to rub her wrists. Never had he used that much force on her, not even when they slept together. It was partially her fault for wanting to get away but it was equally his fault for not giving in and letting her go.

“Yeah, ya don’t needa be with a jerk like him.” Natsu reached and took one of Lucy’s arms and examined the wrist carefully. He could see faint finger marks on Lucy’s pale skin, marring the otherwise flawless skin. He frowned. Men should never ever hurt women, no matter the reason.

“Yeah, I just didn’t know how much of a jerk he was,” Lucy murmured.

“Whaddya mean?”

“Long story.” Lucy said.

“Tell me when ya want. I’ll listen. Might not get all of it but at least you can just rant or something. Just don’t rant when it’s that PMS thing or whatever.” He shuddered. That was the worst because most of it was just complaining and yelling for no apparent reason. Women were scary during that period of time. That special time once a month. He was lucky that Lisanna only craved chocolate and pickles, which was weird but as long as he didn’t get yelled at for no reason, he was golden.

Lucy was grateful for Natsu’s words. The vocalist wasn’t exactly the brightest light bulb but at least he was dependable. “Thanks, Natsu. . .but. . .why are you here?” She was grateful that he had been here but she couldn’t help but wonder why he had come. She hadn’t called him and she was sure that they weren’t supposed to be meeting up.

“Oh yeah.” As if reminded, his stomach let out a loud grumble. “Man, do ya have food? I’m starving!”

“I was just about to go to the store to get some stuff before. . . well you know.” Loke’s appearance had thrown everything off and Lucy wasn’t even sure she wanted to go to the store at the moment. She gently pulled her wrist back from Natsu’s grasp and rubbed them, hoping to dissipate some of the soreness. She made her way into the kitchen to see what she still had. Maybe she could just make do with what she had. 

Natsu followed her, stomach complaining again. “Got anything spicy?”

Lucy liked her share of spicy foods but nothing too extreme. Eating lava wasn’t her idea of good food. If the spice overpowered the other flavors of the dish, then what was the point of eating said dish? Well unless of course she was a masochist, which she wasn’t.

“Uh,” Lucy opened her refrigerator to assess the ingredients she had to work with. Maybe she could whip something up really quick and just throw in a bunch of peppers for Natsu. “What, do you eat raw ghost chilies as a snack?” 

Natsu eyes seemed to bulge out of his sockets. “You have ghost chilies?! I didn’t know anyone else like spicy food like I do.” Backfired. Backfired horribly so now it was time to backtrack. 

“No, no! You’re crazy to eat those things. I heard you get hallucinations.”

“That would be cool. Wonder if I’ll get to see dragons,” Natsu’s wide grin caused Lucy to smile.

“You like dragons huh?”

“Yup, have ever since I was a kid.”

“What’s so different now?”

“Hey!” Natsu gave her the cutest pout and she laughed a little. It really was almost a miracle how he managed to do that. He had seen her in the worst of mood twice now and every time he managed to get a smile back on her face. She couldn’t even measure the gratitude she owed him.

“Did you know there’s a dragon constellation?”

“There is? Cool!”

“Mmhmm, yeah. It’s called Draco.” Lucy explained. It was nice that Natsu didn’t find stars boring.

“Wanna show it to me some time?” Lucy stopped and looked at Natsu. He wanted to see ‘Draco’? He wanted to somewhere and just stare up at the stars instead of doing whatever it was that guys did? Lucy never minded heading out to the higher elevations, or to less populated areas, where there was less light pollution if it meant getting the chance to see some of her favorite constellations.

“Sure, just let me know when you’re free.”

“’Kay, it’s a date!”

What? Immediately Lucy mentally slapped herself. She shouldn’t be thinking that way. Quickly, she set her ingredients on the counter. She didn’t want to take it as anything more than what it meant but Natsu was one confusing guy. At least his words were.  
***  
Levy insisted on staying over the night before Open Campus and neither of them had gotten much sleep, as they were prone to do when they were together. It had been a whirlwind week to say the least. Between what had happened between her and Loke and everything that still needed to be done for classes, Lucy was glad her friend was there. They had stayed up all night talking and only let sleep claim them in the early morning hours.

She had been candid and told Levy what had happened. She could see that the bluenette was having a hard time deciding whether to be angry or extremely happy. The conflicting emotions made for an interesting expression on her face. As Lucy finished telling her story, she found Levy staring at her, eyes glittering. Oh crap, she probably should have left out that part about Natsu coming to her rescue. Again.

Levy came out of the bathroom after having gone through her morning regiment and was staring at the pile of clothes that exploded from her overnight bag. Clearly Levy didn’t realize that an overnight bag only meant cloths needed for one or two nights, not a whole week’s worth. Then again, Lucy understood Levy’ want of looking cute.

Luckily, Levy decided to let it slide. Besides, the bluenette already knew what the blonde would say if she made any comment. 

“Lulu, what do you want to do at Open Campus?”

“Does it even matter? I know what you are looking forward to,” Lucy said with nudge to her friend. It was all Levy could talk about once she found out.

“That’s not all I’m looking forward to!” Levy protested. She felt a little insulted that her friend would even think that she had such a one track mind! 

“Riiiiiiiiight.”

Crap. Sometimes it was a pain to have a best friend who knew you, some times better, than you knew yourself. Levy sighed. “I can’t help it. Have you seen him?”

“For all the times you tease me about Natsu, I should tease you about Gajeel!” Lucy said, with a smirk. It was only fair. Actually, it was more than fair because as far as she knew, Gajeel wasn’t attached to anyone. From the couple of times she had seen him, he seemed more interested in his instrument than he did anything else. How Levy could like someone like that, Lucy was clueless. But, she didn’t want to make any assumptions. She would rather get to know Gajeel before making any judgments on him.

“That’s not nice, Lulu!” Levy started to whine, her face heating up. She had gotten to talk to the bassist a couple of times. He was gruff with his responses but at least he answered the questions he had. His voice was low, gravelly, which made it kind of sexy, in her opinion. Sometimes he would jump in as backup vocals, though infrequently, and she got to hear the way his voice and Natsu’s voice melded. An interesting combination but not a bad one. It was more often that the keyboardist would jump in instead.

“Aww, wittle Levy-wevy is getting embarrassed!” Lucy went to poke her friend in the cheek, and she could feel the heat radiating off her friend’s skin.

“Lulu!!” Levy pounced on the blonde, hiding her face. She didn’t have to go that far!

Lucy giggled and pat her friend on back. “Okay, okay, I won’t tease anymore. . .for now. For serious, what should we do?”

“I’m going to see what short stories and poems the literature department is going to put out,” Levy said. Lucy almost rolled her eyes. Typical Levy going for the books. “What about you?”

Lucy thought about it for a moment. “I think the Astronomy Department is doing a show or something, about the various planets and even some of the galaxies out there besides our own.”

“Of course you’d go with your department.”

“You are too.” 

“I’m looking forward to some good eats. I heard a lot of the local restaurants will be there.”

“As long as I get a strawberry something, I will be a very happy clam.”

“You probably were a strawberry in your past life. That would explain why you love them so much.”

It was true. Strawberry was probably her favorite flavor, with chocolate being second. Any time any bakery came out with a strawberry flavored cake, or crème, or frosting, or pie, or cupcake, or even cookie, Lucy was there. Levy often teased her about having a sixth sense about strawberries. Lucy could be at home, get a craving, go to a shop she had never been to and there would be something strawberry they had just put out for that day. It was a little scary.

“And you were a bookworm.”

“I’d be happy as a bookworm. I could just be amongst books all day.”

“Your obsession with books is a little much, Levy.”

“So is your obsession with strawberries!”

“Hey, strawberries are good for you! They have vitamins!”

“Books are good too! They have knowledge!”

As always, their arguments about their obsessions ended in a draw. It was light bantering that they usually used when the mood was tense or they hit the right topic. It never ceased to end in laughter for the both of them.

Between the laughing and the teasing and the occasional thrown pillow, it took almost an hour and a half to get ready. Levy was done first. Gone was the mess of blue hair that liked to stick up whenever she got up, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down. Curse her tendency to roll around while sleeping. Her blue locks were tamed mostly by brushing and then sticking an orange headband on. Her outfit was a sleeveless orange top, the neckline edged in ruffles and a pair of white pants. She always had to have something orange! She had recently gotten some cute orange wedge sandals which she decided to match her outfit to and topped it off with a cropped denim jacket.

Lucy went with a simple red short-sleeved, scoop neck shirt and a white pleated shirt held up with a brown belt. Her shoes were lace-up boots she had found on sale from her favorite shoe store. A girl could never have enough shoes. Gathering up part of her hair in a small side ponytail, Lucy gave herself a once over before she declared herself ready.

“Ready for Open Campus, Levy?”

“Been ready,” came the answer as they left Lucy’s apartment and headed for Lucy’s car. Parking would probably be a nightmare, since the whole town was able to park on school grounds, but public transportation would be just as crowded and on the way back, they could travel in comfort. 

***  
Just as they had predicted, the parking structure was already filling up. It was by sheer luck that Lucy managed to spot a parking space on the top level, way in the corner. It would be a nightmare to back out of if they were leaving during the rush but if they left later than everyone, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. Looked like they were going to stay until the end of the festivities.

As they made their way onto school grounds, Lucy and Levy saw families with children walking about, some pointing at buildings, others trying to keep their little ones from getting into trouble. As the approached the central quad, they saw the numerous booths already set up, people milling about, chattering excitedly. A large stage had been set up at one end. Lights, wires, speakers, microphone stands, everything a band needed was already on stage. 

“Lulu, let’s go see if we can find them!”

Of course Lucy already knew who Levy was talking about. Without waiting for a reply, the blonde was dragged by her friend around the quad, looking for either pink hair or many piercings. This was one of the few times, okay one of the many times, Lucy wished she wasn’t so well endowed. It made for brushing by people difficult when her chest stuck out six inches more than she should have liked. Lucky Levy was having an easier time squeezing through with her almost-flat-but-not-really chest.

When they reached a clearing, Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t claustrophobic but tight spaces did make her a bit uncomfortable. Crowds of people did too. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the DragonSlayers, but instead of seeing them, she saw someone that made her whole body freeze.

“Loke.”

Her eyes locked onto his signature ginger hair. He was dressed in his usual suit with his sunglasses but the person beside him, laughing with him, holding onto his arm so intimately. . .it had to be her. Lucy could feel her hurt thud against her chest and she wanted to look away but she dared not to just in case he looked her way, she needed to hide somewhere. What was he doing here anyway? He hadn’t really been interested in coming back to his alma mater before so what was different?

“Lulu?” Levy had heard what her friend had said and looked in the direction the blonde was looking. “What’s he doing here?” Clearly she was under the same impression Lucy was regarding his feelings of coming back to his old university. “Come on, let’s go see.”

Lucy shook her head. She wasn’t feeling up to an emotional rollercoaster tonight. She just wanted to come and enjoy a night on the quad with good food and good music with her friend. Whatever was happening in her personal life, she wanted to take a break from it and forget it. “Levy, just forget it.”

“Don’t you want to know who that other woman is? She’s ruining your relationship!”

“She isn’t, Levy. He is.” Loke had been the one to lie to the both of them. He had told her that he was making a call to his work and he ended up calling her instead. From what she knew, Lucy was sure that the other woman had no idea that Lucy even existed, much less that she was Loke’s (now) ex-girlfriend. As mad as Lucy was, to shift the blame on an innocent was never okay. But it also didn’t mean that she wanted to stay ignorant of the other woman in Loke’s life. She wanted to know who it was that made Loke’s eyes wander. “Let’s head over to the literature club booth, you wanted to pick something up right?”

Levy’s face changed and she smiled. “Oh yeah!” She had almost forgotten that she wanted to pick up the collection of previously unpublished works from the students in the literature club. Some were already well on their way to being published by major publishers. Others were putting together their first novel and were giving out snippets, hoping to build an audience base early. She thought Lucy would do well in the club but her friend never was interested in joining.

Taking Lucy’s hand, Levy excitedly pulled her friend towards the booth. Fighting and squeezing their way through was no easy feat, with many people standing around various booths, interested in what some of the members had to say. When Levy finally got what she wanted, the bluenette looked over the moon. Lucy tried not to laugh at her friend’s over-the-top reaction. Lucy looked around at the other booths, glancing at the wares and the information. 

She had been right in the middle of perusing through laminated copies of the constellations from the Astronomy Club when Levy tugged on her arm. 

“Lulu, come on, I think the first band is setting up right now!”

Lucy giggled. Levy sure did have a one track mind when it came to the DragonSlayers. They weren’t quite sure when Natsu and the others would play, just that they were going to. 

“We should get snacks or something, Levy. We’re going to be here a while.”

“Right. Do you know what you want?”

“I saw some really good looking fries.” Not just regularly fried potatoes, but fried potatoes topped with garlic, cilantro, and salt. Add ranch to that mix and any thoughts of diets would get thrown out the window.

“I can get us some spring rolls too,” Levy said. Those rolls wrapped in rice paper were simply divine given the slightly sweet peanut dipping sauce. The crunchiness of the lettuce with the sweetness of shrimp and the chewiness of the vermicelli noodles were simply heaven on the taste buds.

“Of course we need some-“

“Desserts!”

Levy always could read her mind! “Yep, so I’ll get the fries and the desserts.”

“And I’ll get the spring rolls and some drinks. Let’s meet up by our spot.” Their ‘spot’ was one of the few trees left on the quad where they designated as a meeting spot any time they were on campus. It was easy to find and most of the time it was in the middle of where their classes were. 

Nodding, the two split up to gather their respective foods. Lucy headed over to where the delicious scent of garlic fries wafted through the air, permeating through the crowds, enticing anyone who dared walk close enough. Ordering two orders, one for Levy and one for herself, Lucy carried her precious cargo to her next stall, where one of her favorite bakeries had set up a booth. The owner was now familiar with her now and gave her a discount for buying macarons, bite-sized cookies, and of course two strawberry cupcakes (for later).

With her precious haul, Lucy had even more of a difficult time navigating through the crowds. She needed to protect her precious cargo and had to be a master juggler to get through some areas. She almost made it to The Spot when her luck ran out.

“Sorry, excuse me, sorry, sor-AH!” Lucy swerved to avoid someone but ended up tripping over someone else’s foot. She lost her balance and toppled forward. In slow motion, Lucy could see the ground coming to meet her, clutching at least the desserts ,which were in the bag, Lucy closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. . .which never came. 

Confused, she opened her eyes to see the one and only The DragonSlayers’ vocalist’s grinning face. “Careful Lucy, gonna get hurt that way.”

“N-Natsu?” How? Where? When? Huh? 

“You tripped over Laxus’ big ass foot,” Natsu explained, righting the blonde so she could stand on her own two feet. “We were gonna get something to drink.”

“Oh, uh…” Lucy turned to stare at the DragonSlayers’ drummer. Whoa, he sure was tall. Lucy had to look up to see the drummer’s eyes. “Sorry about that.”

Laxus only nodded at her. Definitely not the talkative type. She mused and then checked to see if her stash was safe. Too bad the garlic fries lay at her feet in a sad heap. There went money and the chance for her taste buds to dance. Sighing, she bent to pick up her mess never noticing the hazel eyes that had seen everything.

Loke stood off in the distance, watching the interaction between Lucy and the Pink Haired Punk that stood up to him the other day. Lucy seemed way too familiar with him and he with her. As far as Loke was concerned, Lucy didn’t have a friend like that. He knew many of her friends or at least the people she hung out with, Levy excluded of course. He had never heard her once mention a guy with pink hair. Did that mean Lucy had cheated on him?

He looked around, knowing she was getting them a bottle of water. She, being Ariana Hamal, Aries for short. She had been a high school crush that Loke kept to himself. She moved away for college while he had stayed in town and gone to the university at home. Despite the promise to keep in touch, eventually schoolwork load and then his job prevented him from keeping that promise. He had met Lucy afterwards but never forgot about her. He thought he had moved on when he met Lucy. He showered the blonde with gifts and attention, treated her like a princess. He had even been close to think about proposing but then Aries came back into his life.

It had been months ago that the higher ups hired another manager for their branch. They had expanded and now worked at twice the capacity which meant that it was too much work for just one manager. To Loke’s surprise, when Aries walked through the door, years of memories and old feelings came rushing back. She still looked the same with soft pink hair and warm brown eyes. She was still as apologetic as ever, apologizing any chance she had even though she didn’t do anything wrong. Loke had found that to be a cute, yet frustrating part of her personality. Even though she looked naïve and innocent, Aries knew how to conduct business. She could be a formidable opponent when it came time be one. She still looked like she preferred wool clothing. Loke had asked her one time why she liked it and she just replied that they were comfortable. 

She took to wearing a headband where a pair of horns were attached at the ends. Loke had gotten it for her when they reunited. His nickname for her came from the constellation “Aries”, meaning the Ram and he had given it to her in high school. He had gotten it for her as a joke but she seemed to like it and even wore it every day. 

When she had come back, it was like she never left. They could pick up from where they left off, except for the fact that they were older now and had jobs. They conversed comfortably for hours, catching up on the years that they had been apart. Loke found out that Aries actually met a man and gotten married, but it hadn’t worked out and so she came back for a fresh start. Loke couldn’t bring himself to tell Aries that he was attached, especially when she looked at him with those doe brown eyes, the eyes he had wanted looking at him for so long. Before he knew it, he was lying to both Lucy and Aries. He knew it would blow up one day but conflicting feelings bubbled inside and he hadn’t managed to sort it out quite yet. That was when Lucy started acting funny. Then the disastrous meeting at her apartment a few days ago confirmed his suspicions.

Loke felt guilty keeping all these secrets but he needed to until he could find a good way to end things nicely. He hadn’t wanted Lucy to find out when she did and he didn’t want Aries finding out at all. He knew that if Aries found out, the soft-spoken woman would think it was all her fault. It wasn’t. It was Loke’s. He knew that very well. He deserved everything that Lucy threw at him and then some. He would have to apologize sincerely but he couldn’t apologize for following what his heart said. It was true, he loved Lucy. He loved her caring personality, loved her bright and cheerful smile, of course her techniques in bed but he couldn’t deny the flame he still held for Aries. First crushes were hard to get over which was why he chose Aries. But that didn’t stop the flicker of jealousy he felt when he saw Lucy laughing and having a good time with the Pink Haired Punk.

He hadn’t wanted to come to Open Campus. The only times he had ever come was during his time at the university. But Aries had wanted to visit the place where Loke had gone to school. She wanted to know stories about when he attended and any mischief he had gotten into. Loke deliberately left out the more incriminating stories lest Aries give him a hard time about it.

“Loke.” Aries’ soft voice broke through his thoughts. She had come back with water clutched in her hands.

Loke smiled. “Are you alright? Was it hard to find?”

Aries shook her head. “I’m sorry it took so long.”

“No need to be sorry,” Loke said with a chuckle. “Let’s find a spot to sit.” Any spot away from Lucy and her group of friends was a good spot. The past and present did not have to meet quite yet.

Lucy, meanwhile, had found Levy. Natsu and Laxus had been nice enough to offer to go and get a new order of garlic fries since Natsu had said, quote “Laxus’ big ass foot ruined your fries. He’ll pay for more.” Lucy shook her head. It wasn’t a big deal. Accidents happened but Natsu was insistent and Laxus didn’t seem to mind. Actually he didn’t seem to have any expression, except annoyance. Natsu had laughed and told her not to worry about it because he was born with a face like that. That had earned him a smack from the elder of the two.

Lucy and Levy were about to sit down when Natsu and Laxus came back, garlic fries in both of Laxus’ giant hands as promised. Natsu had grabbed Lucy by the wrist and tugged her towards a different spot, Levy and Laxus following.

“We already got a spot!”

“Wha-?”

“Come meet the rest of the DragonSlayers!”

“When do you go on stage?”

“Not for a while so come hang out with us!”

Levy could hardly contain a squeal and hurriedly followed on Natsu’s heel. The rest of the group, Gajeel, lounging in the grass, and Gray, sitting, shirt unbuttoned, both greeted the group with a nod. Around then sat their instrument cases. Levy took a seat next to Gajeel. There was another person there that Lucy hadn’t met before.

A relatively short, white-haired woman with electrifying blue eyes sat next to Gray and smiled when Lucy and Levy arrived. “Hey Natsu. Your friends?”

Natsu grinned. “Yep! Lisanna, meet Luce and Levy.” He gestured to each woman as he introduced them. Then he turned to Lucy and Levy. “Luce, Levy, meet Lisanna.”

Lucy immediately knew who she was. She had heard that name the second time she had met Natsu.

His girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Lisanna looked at the two women and smiled. “Hi.” Her voice made her sound young, or at least younger than she probably was.

It took Lucy a minute and jab from Levy. “Oh uh, hi.” Yes, Lucy knew exactly how to make a wonderful first impression when meeting new people.

“Natsu says you both go here too,” Lisanna said, looking to the two new girls that joined their little group. The both of them seemed really nice and really close. Lisanna could only think that their closeness resembled her closeness with her sister, Mirajane. It wasn’t too often that her family could spend quality time together. Mirajane Strauss was a well-known model and spent a lot of time on photoshoots or walking the runway for a new designer. Lisanna had a brother as well, Elfman and the three Strauss siblings were a very close knit family. Their parents had died when they were young and Mirajane, being the oldest, had quit school, and taken up modeling to help raise her two siblings.

Lisanna had gone to the academy where Laxus’ grandfather was the Headmaster. It was also at that academy where she met Natsu. He had a knack of getting into trouble because he would ditch class whenever he had the chance. Mirajane had been the one to warn her to stay away from troublemakers like Natsu. But there was something so charming about the way he smiled and the way he always wore his scarf, even when it was blazing hot in the summer. It really must have meant a lot, and Lisanna later found out why, for Natsu to wear the scarf. One classmate had made the mistake of trying to steal it and she had never seen anyone get so angry before. Another girl in the class had gone and called the teacher to break up the fight.

Natsu ended up with detention and visit to the Headmaster’s office. 

Despite her sister’s warnings, Lisanna worked up the courage to talk to Natsu one day after school. She found him funny and interesting. That had been the beginning of everything. And then Lisanna, because of her sister, had to leave. She wasn’t sure if Natsu would remember but then she came back and they picked up right where they left off. 

Lisanna had been glad to hear that Natsu decided to pursue music. He had always talked about being in a band and finding band members to do it. Lisanna was a tiny bit skeptical when Natsu virtually destroyed every single instrument the music teacher tried to teach him. She wasn’t even sure what he did to bend a flute ninety degrees. She certainly didn’t want to know how he had snapped his clarinet, or how a hole ended up on the drums. Frustrated, the music teacher had given him a triangle to play and even then, it had been bent into something unrecognizable. At least now he could play the guitar.

The blonde’s voice, Lucy, brought her out of her thoughts. “Yeah, I’m majoring in Astronomy and English. How about you?”

“Animal Science,” was Lisanna’s reply. Since childhood, she always loved animals even though she didn’t have any pets. She knew she wanted to grow up and work with animals. After getting her degree, Lisanna was thinking about becoming a veterinarian. 

Lucy couldn’t help but be amazed. Lisanna had to be smart to choose a science like Animal Science. She had heard rumors that the majority of Lisanna’s major decided to quit two years into the program because it just got way to hard way too fast. Lucy was just glad she didn’t have to know the ins and outs of the different types of animals; like the different breeds of cows or sheep. 

“Wow, so you want to be a veterinarian?” 

The white-haired student nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly!”

“That’s really great, Lisanna.”

“Thanks. So you really like stars, Lucy?”

“Yep, always have.”

“How about you, Levy?”

It was the blue-haired student’s turn to answer. “Books, I love books.”

“Lev, you would marry books if they were real human beings.” Lucy said, teasing her friend a little.

“And? At least they would all be different and interesting and I’d probably never grow tired of them!”

A snort came from Gajeel, who was otherwise quiet the entire time. He couldn’t have cared less about what the girls were talking about but that one comment from the blue-haired chick was a little interesting. He had always known that he wanted to be a musician. He couldn’t imagine sitting at the library for hours and just. . .reading. Boring as shit, next!

Apparently the snort from Gajeel was enough to cause Levy to look shyly his way. Her heart was already beating slightly faster when she had seen the bassist lying down in the grass, on his side, turned towards the stage. Ever since she had first seen the DragonSlayers perform, she had been curious about the man who had so many piercings. At first she was curious if all of those had hurt or not. There was no way that getting piercings on the face was not going to hurt. Getting earrings had been mortifying enough on its own. The sound of the piercer right next to her ear, it was like a stapler. Her ear had been ‘stapled’ with an earring and that was unpleasant to think about. Now Gajeel’s piercings were all over his face so did that mean he was a masochist? 

Nope, wasn’t going to go there. 

Levy cleared her throat. “What about you, Gajeel? Do you like books?”

“Nope. Boring as shit.” The bluenette looked a little crestfallen at the answer. So that meant that they didn’t really have anything in common at all. Gajeel seemed to realize this and added “Don’t mean they ain’t good or whatever. Just not my cuppa tea.” 

“Can’t really imagine you reading, Iron Brains,” Natsu said, laughing loudly and thumping the bassist on the back.

“You either, Salamander,” Gajeel retorted, before closing his eyes to enjoy the cooling air around them. He had only tagged along because he was performing. The university seemed super dull to him. Going around all day with books and listening to professors trying to teach a bunch of students who only want a grade to get a piece of paper to say they managed to regurgitate information well enough. Nope, he would rather be in his room coming up with songs and playing with a cat. He was still working on that cat part.

Laxus hadn’t wanted any cats. He preferred a dog actually, or something other than a cat. The rest of the band were all for cats but no one really wanted to go against Laxus. When they had been children, Natsu had made it a habit of trying to fight the taller, older blond. Every time he had his ass handed to him but he never really learned. He was still determined to beat the drummer of these days. Maybe.

Natsu responded to Gajeel’s statement by throwing a garlic fry at his head. The pink haired vocalist laughed loudly as the piece of food stuck in the long, thick, black mane. Even Levy covered her mouth to hide a smile. Instantly, the bassist sat up and glared at the lead vocalist. In one quick move, had grabbed a handful of popcorn that Gray paid for, and flung it at Natsu. Pieces of popcorn stuck to Natsu’s hair like lint on a sweater.

Gajeel smirked. Natsu was about to retaliate when a large hand grabbed onto his ear and yanked. “OW!! What the hell?!”

“Enough, both of you,” came Laxus’ quiet but firm voice.

Gajeel just stared for a second before shrugging and making himself comfortable once again.

“What the hell? Why’d you only pull my ear?” Natsu didn’t think Gajeel should have gotten away with it. He reached up to brush the popcorn out of his hair.

“You started it, dumbass,” Laxus said, fixing the pink-haired troublemaker with a steely stare. 

Lisanna placed a hand on Natsu’s arm as he was about to retort. As a response, he merely just shrugged, grin back in place. Lucy was amazed to see that such a simple gesture was enough to placate the otherwise upset band member. Natsu and Lisanna must’ve had quite a history together. That, or they were very much in love. Lucy couldn’t help the slight feeling in her chest that seemed to tickle up. She quickly squashed it down, though. She was in no position to be thinking anything like that. That would’ve made her as bad as Loke and she never wanted to be like him, ever.

The rest of the night passed with only a couple of outbursts from the members of the DragonSlayers. Natsu had gotten into an argument with Gray over what kind of underwear was better, boxers or briefs. That argument had asked for a vote from the girls. Lisanna was blushing to high heaven and Levy was unsure since she never really thought about it before. Lucy had been the tiebreaker and opted to go for boxers rather than briefs.

Levy, Lucy and Lisanna had been chatting amicably about school and some of the professors they had the pleasure and displeasure of having. The three had burst into giggles when they talked about the first English professor all of them had taken. A dreary old man who looked like he was as ancient as some of the world wonders. They couldn’t even see his face clearly under all those wrinkles and his insanely long moustache and beard. Even though it had been a first year class, he had graded their final papers as if they were writing a fourth-year thesis. Both Lucy and Levy had passed by the skin of their teeth and Lisanna had somehow worked a miracle to pass.

“Ugh, he almost made me quit!” Levy said, a look of disgust on her face. “He gave me a C+ because I forgot to put my header on the top.”

“He took off a whole letter grade for me because I forgot a punctuation mark,” Lisanna replied, never forgetting the marks on her paper.

Lucy shuddered. “Remember his Red Pen of Doom?” The two others nodded. There was no way to forget it. Every time they turned in a paper, when they got it back, it was full of red corrections. Then at the very end, if there was a grade in red, everyone knew it wouldn’t be above a ‘C’. Marks for ‘A’s’ and ‘B’s’ were always marked in either black or green. Lucy remembered there was one time, just to give her a heart attack, he had marked one of her papers with the red pen even though she did decently on it; she had been one of the few that did decently on that particular assignment.

“Oi, Lisanna, Luce, Levy, we’re up next!” Natsu interrupted, interjecting himself into the conversation. The rest of the DragonSlayers were already up with their instruments in their hands. Laxus had gone ahead so he could set up his drum set. 

“Go for it, DragonSlayers!” Levy said, waving her arms excitedly.

“Break a leg!” Lucy said, giving them a thumbs up.

Lisanna stood up to give each of the DragonSlayers a hug. “Good luck,” she said, hugging Natsu last, and the longest.

Natsu beamed. “We’re gonna kick ass!” He gave Lisanna a quick hug back and waved to both Lucy and Levy before going to join his band for their warmup session.

The girls were then left with a mess of food containers and empty bottles. Deciding that they would rather be responsible than lazy, they all helped in cleaning up their little area, even picking up the bits of food that was the resulted of a short-lived food fight between Natsu and Gajeel earlier. Once they were all satisfied that it was clean, the three of them made their way closer to the stage. 

Lucy hadn’t been paying much attention to the acts that had been playing but the band before theirs had been pretty good. The rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy it, with applause and cheering as the act finished up with their last song. Levy let out a whooping cheer when the DragonSlayers took the stage. They set themselves up, Natsu in the middle, Gray to the left and Gajeel to the right. Laxus took his place behind his drums.

“Yo! We’re the DragonSlayers! How’s everyone tonight?” Natsu yelled into the microphone.

There were some cheers from people who already knew who the DragonSlayers were and others who were cheering from having a good night.

“Yeah!! DragonSlayers!! Love you!!” Levy was jumping up and down, waving her arms wildly.

“Love ya too,” Natsu replied with a wink, earning some more cheers and laughter from the crowd. “Let’s get this started!” Counting off to his bandmates, the DragonSlayers started off with a high energy song that brought many more of the crowd to their feet. 

Lucy wasn’t so surprised that the DragonSlayers would get new fans every show they played. She had only seen them once and she instantly liked the music they played. Sure, it wasn’t lovey dovey or ballad-y, but she enjoyed the melodies and the beats associated with their songs. She couldn’t quite see Natsu singing a ballad when he was so full of energy for their other songs.

Levy was jumping up and down, even singing some of the lyrics. Where Levy managed to find that kind of energy was a mystery to Lucy. The bluenette was either a ball of energy or so lethargic that she could sleep most of the day away. Usually Levy slept the day away after slaving over a hot keyboard to finish a last minute paper or after a tough day in class after a final. Lucy was almost the same way with her naps too. She felt so much better after having slept for the majority of the day. She had just enough energy to make something to eat, eat, and then fall back asleep a couple hours later. By the following day, she would be back to normal.

The DragonSlayers were well into their third song when Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder. She had been so engrossed in the music that everything else around her was tuned out. Levy leaned in so Lucy could hear her. “I’m going to the bathroom, Lulu.” 

“Want me to go with you?” Lucy knew that there safety in numbers. Even though this was a college campus and there were patrols, things still could happen. 

Lisanna stepped up beside Levy. “I’ll go with her, I need to go too.” She knew she shouldn’t have had so much water earlier.

Lucy felt better that Lisanna would be with Levy and nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay here and save our spot,” she said, with a grin. They had gotten a spot right in front and when others started to find out just how good the band was, there was already a crowd gathering. To Lucy, it almost seemed like a mini-concert just for the fans of the DragonSlayers. None of the other acts had garnered so much attention. She watched as Levy and Lisanna made their way through the crowd towards where the closes restrooms were.

Lucy turned her attention back to the band, Gray in the middle of his solo. There were many screams from girls and Lucy was sure it was because his shirt was open, revealing a very toned body. Lucy couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate the view but it was just that, an appreciation of hard work.

She was paying attention to the band so she didn’t see who it was that came up to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the stage. Before she knew it 

“What the- hey! Let go!” Lucy’s heart was immediately pounding as her body sensed danger. Her heart beat faster, her pupils dilated, her muscles tensed as she got ready to fight whomever had put their hands on her. Instinctively, she yanked her wrist, trying to free herself before she got too far. Her feet were dragging but it did nothing to stop her from moving. 

It was only when they were clear that her kidnapper actually let go. “Lucy.”

Lucy gasped at the familiar voice. “What the hell, Loke!”

Her ex put up his hands in a defensive posture. “Hey sorry, but I wanted to talk.”

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. What a way to ruin a perfectly good evening out with friends. “About what?” She could barely contain the disdain, the venom in her voice. She had had a few days to let their previous encounter sink in. She hated the fact that she had been so caught off guard. She replayed their “conversation” over again, especially during the nighttime when she had some time to herself. She realized that she didn’t need to shed anymore tears. All she was left with was disgust towards his behavior and a disappointment that their relationship, which they had been cultivating for the past three years, had wound up broken and discarded. 

Now that he had her attention, Loke actually found himself at a loss for words. He too had replayed their previous encounter and he could only cringe when he thought about just how hurt Lucy had been. He knew he messed up, royally screwed up and he hadn’t known how to deal with it properly. She had found out in the worst way and he had been caught off guard. Normally, Loke was the one in control, he was the one that had all the answers, but this was completely new. “About before, I-“

“Sorry Loke, I have people waiting for me.” Lucy hadn’t meant to sound brusque but that was the way it came out. She turned on her heel and started walking away.

“Wait, Lucy!”

Lucy didn’t turn back around but she did stop. “You already know we’re over Loke. It’s going to take time for me to forgive you and I’ll never forget either. I can’t say that I wish you happiness either right now. But give me time and I might.”

“Lucy…I…I’m sorry.”

Lucy tensed. She hadn’t expected an apology. It wasn’t often that Loke apologized, sincerely apologized like this. But even though she knew that Loke meant the best, it didn’t make her feel any better. He had hurt her. Deeply hurt her in a way that she knew that a ‘sorry’ wasn’t going to readily fix. Never had she imagined that she would be on the receiving end of an unfaithful boyfriend. She had read the stories and seen the shows. She had felt sympathy for the victims but she couldn’t empathize, until now. She realized now that after everything, the crying, the screaming, she was only left numb. Loke’s words had once caused her heart to flutter but now they meant nothing. It was as if they were casting a hazy fog around her. There was no feeling, just a sense of coolness that would eventually burn off and she wouldn’t experience it again. And after the numbness, she was just tired. It drained her to go through the emotional rollercoaster he had caused her. Her voice finally managed to mumble, “Yeah, me too.”

She wasn’t sorry that she broke up with Loke, hell no. She was sorry that they ended the way it did. During their time together, they had almost become the best of friends. They could share anything and everything together. Lucy knew that if she had any issues, she would be able to tell Loke and he would either offer his shoulder and his strength or his advice. It was the same with Loke. He could have told her anything and Lucy would wrack her brain trying to figure the best way to help him handle any kind of situation. 

Loke knew that Lucy deserved better. He knew that in her eyes he was scum, no, less than scum. His wandering eyes and old torch had blinded and burned him. He knew that he had something great going on with a wonderful woman. The ginger also knew that he would wait for any amount of time, as long as it took, for Lucy to forgive him. Even if she didn’t forgive him, at least if he could watch over her from a distance and see that she was safe and happy, it would be enough.

Loke barely noticed a pink blur rushing past him, heading straight towards the blonde. He was sure that Lucy herself probably didn’t even know what was going on. The only thought that Loke had was wondering who would interrupt them so rudely. He was making headway, finally. Lucy was starting to talk to him again without breaking down in hysterics or screaming at him to leave. She finally seemed to get back to “normal”; the Lucy he had known for so long.

Suddenly, Lucy felt herself being yanked back and she stumbled a few steps before protective arms enclosed her. She fell against a strong chest and she looked up, confused.

“Thought I told you to stay away from her.”

Lucy knew that voice. But. . .”Natsu?”

The pink-haired vocalist wasn’t looking at her. He focused his intense stare on the ginger man who had dared lay a hand on the woman he had supposedly loved. What was his problem? He thought Lucy had made it quite clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. 

Lucy wasn’t even sure how Natsu knew where Loke had taken her. She could feel the heat radiating from his chest and saw the sweat glistening in the soft lighting. That could only mean that he had just come from the stage. Had he stopped the show early to come and help her? Did that mean he was keeping an eye on her? What about Lisanna and Levy? Did they even know where she had gone? There were so many questions that ran rampant throughout Lucy’s head but in the confusion, she felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness emanating from Natsu. She felt protected.

Loke’s hazel eyes narrowed as he stared at the man who had once again intruded on his conversation. Who was he to keep coming to Lucy’s rescue? Why did he really want to interfere? What was Lucy to him anyway? He knew that they couldn’t possibly have had a sexual relationship. No, Lucy wouldn’t do that. Did he feel so attached to her for whatever reason? Loke couldn’t think of a single reason, and so he asked, “Who is she to you?”

“Asshole, I’m Lucy’s friend.”

“You’re acting like much more than a friend.” That statement had come out before he could stop himself. Was that jealousy? No, it wasn’t. Just mere curiosity. Anyone else wouldn’t have blinked twice at what he had done and here he was, saving her again.

“Yeah, well if I am, that ain’t any business of yours,” Natsu growled. He really didn’t like that fact that Loke felt he could drag Lucy off whenever he wanted. He had a girlfriend already didn’t he? Why did he keep coming around Lucy for? Was that jealousy in his thoughts? No, it couldn’t be. . . right? There was no reason for him to feel jealous. He just didn’t like the fact that Loke was still so familiar with her even though they had already broken up. Was he that much of a douchebag that he wanted to keep two girlfriends? Hell no. Not if Natsu could help it. Lucy was too nice, too pretty for that.

Lucy was vaguely aware of the protective way that Natsu had his arm around her. She could feel the muscles tensing as he sized up his opponent and she vaguely wondered if he was thinking about fighting Loke. No, she didn’t want that. 

Gently, she place a hand on Natsu’s chest to gain his attention. When her eyes met his, she murmured softly only he could hear. “We should get back.” Lisanna and Levy would be looking and this didn’t look good, especially in front of Lisanna. 

Natsu just stared at her for a moment before Lucy felt his muscles relax and finally his arm fell to his side. “Yeah, guess so.” Without looking back at the ginger, Natsu took Lucy’s hand and dragged her away back towards the stage. Lucy didn’t look back because if she had, she would have seen the annoyance glittering in hazel eyes.

She would have also seen the pink-haired woman approach Loke and thread her arm through his. “Who was that?”

Loke took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Oh uh, just someone I knew.”

“Oh, she looked like a nice person.”

“Yeah, she is.” More than anyone else I know. Loke’s gaze stayed on the blonde until she and the pink-haired musician disappeared into the crowd.

Natsu kept a firm grip on Lucy as they battled their way through the crowd and back towards the rest of the group.

“. . .Thanks, Natsu.”

“Nah, don’t worry, Luce.” The playfulness was back in his voice and so was his dazzling smile. Lucy had to wonder if Natsu could really change emotions that quickly. Lucy herself needed at least an hour to calm down after getting upset but Natsu’s feelings seemed to change with a flick of a switch. Bipolar? Probably not.

“Did you finish the show?” Hopefully the DragonSlayers didn’t have to cut anything short because of her. She already felt bad that Natsu had gone all the way to save her and left everyone else. She would have felt worse if she caused any further problems.

“Yeah, we were good. Luckily we were at the last song on our setlist anyway,” Natsu said. Lucy breathed a small sigh of relief. At least that was one thing off her mind. “You worry too much, Luce.” Damn, did he read minds now? “Besides, you’re more important than a show anyway.” What? Someone he barely knew and he was already going far beyond what was necessary for her.

“Uh, thanks?”

“Heh, but if ya wanna make it up, buy us all food. Gotta warn ya, we eat a lot.”

Lucy just stared at Natsu and had to laugh. “Deal! I’ll treat you all to a buffet or something.”

“Better be a place they stock pretty fast.”

“No problem. Just name the time and place.”

“We still on for that Dragon-lizard-constellation-star thing?”

Lucy had thought he wouldn’t have remembered. It wasn’t like it was anything serious but she was still happy to hear that he kept those things in mind. “Yeah sure, when did you want to go?”

“I’ll text ya. But it won’t be the same day as food. Ice prick, Iron Brain, and Laxus can’t come.”

“How come?” It wasn’t anything special. She was just going to take Natsu up away from the light pollution and point out the constellation of his favorite mythical creature. 

“They’re dumb. Besides, you can explain it better when it’s just me.”

Lucy giggled. “Okay. We can set another date for that. But…will Lisanna mind?” She really did not want to step on any toes.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Uh, she’s your girlfriend. . .”

“She’s okay with it.” Natsu sounded confident but Lucy wasn’t quite so sure. If her boyfriend was going with another woman to a kind-of-sort-of remote place away from everyone else and spending alone time together, she would at least ask questions. It wasn’t a matter of trusting, it was just a courtesy. “Like I said, I’ll text ya.”

“Okay.” 

They were getting close to the others and Lucy could see Laxus towering above the others. Lisanna and Levy were already back and the blue-haired student was chatting excitedly with the other members. Lucy could tell her animated gestures that she had enjoyed the show. The blonde also noted that she seemed to be talking more directly towards Gajeel. That girl was painstakingly obvious but not quite so obvious at the same time.

“Yo!” Natsu greeted everyone. Everyone turned towards them.

Lucy then noticed that their hands were still joined. She couldn’t help but flush pink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments!


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

“Oh my god, why?!”

It was weeks later and Lucy would still blush pink whenever her mind decided that it was a good time for her to relive that memory, which, much to her dismay, was every freaking day! It didn’t matter where she was or who she was with. Any small gesture would bring up the memory and her cheeks would flush. It was a good thing Levy was distracted most of the time. Her blue-haired friend had made another advancement: getting Gajeel’s number. The bassist hadn’t given it to her specifically per se, more like the whole group was exchanging numbers in case of future hangouts but the stars were definitely shining in Levy’s eyes when she handed her phone to Gajeel. She tried to make it look nonchalant but Lucy knew better.

Lucy’s outburst prompted Levy to stop in her recantation of her bravery to send Gajeel the first text message. “What do you mean why. Lulu?” Levy asked. Her eyes full of confusion until Lucy realized that once again, it had been an inopportune time for her mind to remind her. 

“Oh no, not you, Levy,” Lucy amended. 

There was a knowing glint in Levy’s eye. “Oh ho, is this about Open Campus?” The look turned sly. “Specifically about a certain pink-haired vocalist. Specifically about a pink-haired vocalist who ran to your rescue?”

Lucy’s blush became even more pronounced and it took everything from burying her head in her arms. “N-no!”

“You’re a horrible liar, Lulu,” Levy giggled. Damn Levy for being so eagle-eyed and elephant-brained. Nothing got past her, especially anything concerning Natsu. It was weird though, since Levy knew that Natsu had a girlfriend too. Why was it that Levy didn’t care and continued to tease Lucy about Natsu? Levy certainly wasn’t someone who would condone getting in between a couple. 

Maybe this was her weird way of trying to cheer her up about Loke? It was interesting because after the initial shock and anger when finding out about Loke, there wasn’t much after that. She couldn’t say that she particularly hated him. Of course hurting her wasn’t okay but in an odd way, she felt almost relieved now that everything was over. She had thought that she would be upset and lose her appetite much longer than she really had. No, food was too enjoyable and those strawberry cakes and desserts were waiting. She couldn’t let them down.

In fact, at the moment, she was still finishing her tiny strawberry and white chocolate mousse cake. After a brutal finals week, which saw much paper throwing, book throwing and an almost airborne computer, she and Levy somehow made it out alive. There had been gallons of coffee made, post-its were all around their apartments (they took turns sleeping over) so it looked like a crazy paranoid’s house. They had stumbled out of their last final confident that they had done well so it was time to celebrate and treat themselves. It was also time for a break. Three weeks of nothing but bliss which included mind-numbing activities like marathoning their favorite TV shows, or just vegging out surfing the web.

It had been over an hour but she wanted to savor every delicious bite that melted in her mouth. Now there were just two more heavenly bites left. As her fork moved towards her mouth, a shriek made her jump and she watched in horror as the delicious pink and white cake fell from her fork and landed on the table. A sad pathetic blob of pink and white lay forlornly in front of her and she just stared. 

“Lulu!!” Levy’s voice was shrill and caused the blonde to pry her eyes away from her fallen piece of heaven.

“What?”

“Oh my god. . .H-He. . .G-Gajeel t-texted me b-back!” 

Lucy just stared at her friend. Half of her wanted to cry but the other half wanted to laugh. Her face ended up a weird combination of the two conflicting feelings. “What did he say?” It probably was best that she humor Levy a little.

“’Yo!’” It was more hilarious that Levy tried to imitate the bassist. A deep voice coming from such a petite woman made Lucy burst out into laughter.

“That’s all? I thought he would be proclaiming his love for you or something important,” Lucy teased. Her friend blushed beet red.

“That’s not funny, Lulu!! W-what do I text back?” Levy, oh Levy. Her friend who was otherwise so fluent and eloquent was getting tongue-tied over a guy. Cute. It was too cute.

“How about what any normal person would text back? ‘How are you’?”

Levy flailed her arms comically. “But that’s so boring!”

“Levy! You’re getting too worked up over a text message!”

“You do that same if it were Natsu!”

“I would not!” Why was it Natsu again?

“You would! Because you liiiiiiiiiike him!”

“I do not!”

“What, you don’t like him as a friend?”

“That’s not what I-argh!” Lucy gave up. She couldn’t beat Levy when it came to arguments. The blue-haired bookworm was too good at coming up with rebuttals. Last piece of cake was gobbled up, both women bow flushed a healthy red.

Levy stared at her phone for the longest time before she summoned the courage to type out her short message. ‘Sup?’ Was that too abrupt? Too informal? Did he care? In her moment of panic, her finger hit the ‘send’ button. To her horror, her phone chimed to notify her that her message had sent. “What do I do? What do I do? Oh my god!”

“Relax, Levy! It’s just a text message!” Lucy couldn’t hold in her laughter and she wheezed her comment out between bouts of laughter. Her hands clutched her sides and she struggled to catch her breath.

“It’s not that funny, Lulu!!” Levy was doing a wonderful impersonation of a cherry. Tomatoes were too light compared to her friend’s face. Did Levy even have enough blood in her system to flush that much?

“S-sorry,” Lucy wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. “But it was pretty funny.” That earned her a balled up napkin to the face. She was about to retort when her own phone went off, signaling a message.

Pulling out her phone, the three charms clacking on the case, she checked her message.

[Yo, you busy later?] 

Natsu. Oh no. She hesitated for a moment but something seemed off about his text. Usually there would a mess of punctuation, mainly the abuse of the exclamation point but this next was absent of said exclamation points. Though, in truth, it was hard to discern emotion from text.

[Not really, why?]

[Let’s meet up]

[Uh sure, where?]

There was a pause and Lucy just stared blankly at her screen, waiting.

The sound of her phone didn’t escape Levy. Immediately the bluenette pounced on the sound and her friend had a sly look on her face. “Who is that? Naaaatsu?”

Double damn it! Why were Levy’s guesses always right? And since she was right, it meant that she could tease Lucy back. Triple damn it. “Why do you always assume it’s him?”

“It is him!” Levy howled, fanning her face to try and rid herself of the blush. “What did he say?” The speed at which Levy bolted out of her seat sent her chair flying and clattering to the ground. Ignoring the chair, Levy hurried to the blonde’s side and leaned in to peer at the screen.

[Let’s go on the star date.]

“What? What star date, Lulu?” Why did Levy have to come in precisely at that time? 

Lucy was the beet red one now. “It’s not a date! I just said I’d take him to see the Draco constellation since he likes dragons.”

“Lulu. Come on. A guy and a girl, alone, in the dark, isolated. Sounds like a date!”

“It isn’t! You can’t see stars with all the lights.”

“Suuuuure.” Oh how Lucy wished she had a balled up napkin to toss at Levy. She ignored her friend for a few seconds while she replied to the text.

[Meet up at 9?]

It would give Lucy a chance to gather supplies they would need. A couple of blankets, since it tended to get chilly in the evenings. One to spread on the ground so they could focus their gaze skyward. Maybe a thermos with some tea or at least something warm to drink. The first time she had gone out, she learned her lessons very quickly. It got cold, even during the summer, there was at least a very noticeable cool down from the day time. A jacket helped, a little but her hands were always cold. Gloves only helped a little but a thermos of tea or hot cocoa did just the trick. It warmed the core and when the core was warm, naturally the rest of the body followed.

Her phone buzzed and chimed the arrival of his reply. [See ya]

It wasn’t like Natsu at all and Lucy began to worry. At least she wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out what was bugging him. Maybe this time she could be of some comfort to him. He had been there more times than he really needed to and had helped her in ways that went far beyond friendship. Now it was her turn to be the shoulder to lean on, or to cry on should he feel the need.

“Alright, Levy, I should go. I still need to grab some things before I meet up with Natsu.”

“Riiight, because you liiiiiike him so much,” her friend said, elbowing her in the side.

Lucy shook her head before smirking. “Don’t you need to do the same with Gajeel? Because you liiike him so much?” The blonde left the sputtering bluenette as she grabbed her purse and waved to her friend.

Oh Levy.

Lucy couldn’t stop smiling as she took inventory of the things she would be taking with them on their stargazing trip. There were blankets for each of them. A big thermos waiting for her to fill with still heating water. There were mugs filled with various teabags since she had no idea what kind of tea Natsu liked. There were small packs of granola bars to keep them sustained. Actually, scratch that, she would have to pack a lot of granola bars because she had seen Natsu’s appetite. 

It was nothing to laugh at, the amount of food that she had seen Natsu put away. He came to her house often enough to grab a bite to eat and groceries that normally would have lasted her a week was gone in one sitting with Natsu there. He came often enough that she stocked dried chili peppers and found herself browsing through spicy peppers in the produce section of the grocery store. She had no use for them but in the back of her mind, she kept Natsu in mind.

No, no, stupid brain! She couldn’t think like that at all. They were friends and it was nice to have company so there was nothing strange about stocking things her friend liked, right? She stocked snacks that Levy liked all the time, though she had grown to like some of them herself. Even those weird snap pea chip things that Levy ate by the fistful. Or those weird veggie straws that were ranch flavored. Levy had some interesting tastes. “Healthy but not!” was how Levy really thought about snacks.

It didn’t really matter to Lucy, as long as it tasted good. 

There was a flashlight in case they needed it and star charts that Lucy consulted just to be sure. Since she had been looking at the stars since childhood, the celestial sky was like the back of her hand, but she hadn’t looked at Draco in a while. She was more focused on the 12 Zodiacs since it tied in nicely to her Astrology hobby. She loved looking at each sign and figuring out the different attribute connected to each. Some times she made up little stories about them too. For example, Aquarius would be a mermaid, since she was a water bearer, though the actual mythology surrounding Aquarius was that of a little boy, Hyas, who was killed while fetching water. It was more fun to imagine Aquarius as a mermaid, or a girl instead.

There were other interesting stories stored on her computer that involved the 12 Zodiacs that no one but Levy read. Maybe she would be able to publish them one day.

Gathering all her supplies, she shoved them into a bag. Rolling up the blankets, she set the blankets on top and wandered into her kitchen to boil water to fill the thermoses. As the water was boiling, Lucy ran through some stories about Draco that she could tell Natsu. Maybe he would cheer up, if he really was feeling down.

She reached up into one of her cupboard, sure that she had mini marshmallows stashed somewhere. Her hand hit the plastic bag of sweet pillows and she grabbed it. It would be a little overkill to bring the whole bag, which was too bad because she could eat a half a bag no problem. That was usually when she stayed up late, like she had with Levy the past week. The bluenette had been impressive. Five cups of coffee as she rushed to submit her final paper. Levy was positively buzzing by the time the sun rose and they trudged out the door to head to class. It was halfway through their final exam that Lucy could see Levy, out of the corner of her eye, starting to crash. 

Whoever made it a policy to torture students with both a final paper and a final exam was inhumane. They were English majors for crying out loud, not science majors. Okay, so her field of Astronomy was science but even the test for her Astronomy class didn’t seem as hard as her English class. Or maybe her professor was just bitter and needed to get laid or something, instead of spending time coming up with ridiculous test questions. Yeah, that was it.

With the water boiled, Lucy carefully filled both thermoses and capped them as quickly as she could. Her packing now complete, she stared at her watch. There were still a few minutes before she had to meet Natsu. . .

. . .and her doorbell rang. Speak of the devil. He was early but wasn’t he always? At least whenever he met her, he never really left her waiting. That was a plus. He knew how to be punctual. He was also quick to reply to texts, or at least if he couldn’t, he apologized and offered an explanation, even though she really didn’t need one. 

Crossing the few steps to her door from her kitchen, Lucy let Natsu in. Her instinct had been right; he really had something on his mind. There was no sign of his trademark smile, and no enthusiastic greeting. Instead of bounding in through her door, he sort of just shuffled in.

“Yo, Luce.”

“Hey, you okay, Natsu?”

“Yeah, I guess.” That was code for ‘no’, Lucy already knew. She wasn’t going to pry if Natsu didn’t want to talk about it but she had to make sure.

“You sure?”

“. . .” Silence was confirmation.

There was a little bit of an uncomfortable silence, which was a first for Lucy. Realizing that, Lucy quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go! I know you want to see Draco.”

Natsu seemed to perk up a little and there was a tiny smile. “Yeah!” 

Lucy had to smile. She went to grab her bag full of stuff for their stargazing and her jacket. She took one look at Natsu, who was wearing three-quarters cargo pants and an odd vest thing that had only one sleeve. She had never seen a shirt anywhere like that, and she, an avid shopaholic, knew the inventories of certain stores better than some of the managers. Oddly enough, it was a deep shade of purple and edged with gold and his pants were white but she liked the combination on him. Even his clashing pink hair seemed to fit the outfit too. Once again, there was his trusty scarf wrapped around his neck. She really did wonder about that scarf. It must be super important to him for him to always be wearing it. At least the only part of his body that would be cold would be his right arm.

Her keys jingling in her hand, she ‘shoo’ed Natsu back out the door. “It’s a little far so I’ll have to drive. Are you going to be okay?” She remembered that he hated vehicles because of his motion sickness.

A pout was the only response.

Natsu couldn’t get out of the car faster. In fact, it was more of a hurried scramble that ended with a couple of curses and finally he tumbled out in a heap onto solid ground. If he could, he would kiss the ground but he wasn’t too sure if anything had gone to the bathroom where he lay at the moment. 

“Dork,” Lucy teased as she cut the engine and opened the back door to pull out their supplies. The University’s Astronomy classes knew of this place to study the stars during class time but luckily everyone was on break so they had the place to themselves. She started towards one of her favorite spots, where it was on top of a tiny hill.

“Oi!” Natsu had gathered himself and hurried to Lucy’s side. She felt the brush of his hand against hers and then the weight of her bag was gone. He had taken it. “Hope the weight is worth it, Luce. This thing weighs a ton!”

“Yeah well if you wanted to see the dragon and freeze, be my guest.” It was already getting cooler and Lucy could feel it seeping into her body. The blanket sounded really good at the moment.

“It isn’t that cold!” Natsu plopped down, seemingly knowing where Lucy was headed, the bag landing with a heavy ‘thud’ beside him. “Whoa, you can see tons of stars here!”

Lucy sat down beside him and glanced skyward. “Yeah, it’s my favorite spot.”

“Show me the dragon!” came Natsu’s excited voice.

Lucy stayed quiet, letting her eyes adjust and then focusing her gaze to a group of stars. She could see Ursa Major, or The Big Dipper, so she knew that Draco had to be around the group of stars. “There!”

“Where?” It wasn’t the best time to be looking. It was better suited in the summer but she would make do.

“Okay, see that big rectangle-kinda looking group?”

“Uhm. . .”

“Okay, see the really bright star up there?”

“Oh yeah, I see that one.”

“Okay, look a little down and you see those other four really bright stars?”

“Uhm. . .oh yeah!”

“Now around that rectangle, I’ll show you better on the map, is Draco.” Lucy pulled out her star chart and used her phone as a flashlight to point out the different constellations. The constellations were drawn out on the map so it was easier to visualize. “It’s really long.”

“Oh cool!! A dragon!” Natsu’s smile was back full force. 

“Want to know an interesting story?” 

“I love good dragon stories.”

Lucy chuckled. “Well they think that dragons in Greek mythology really gave the constellation the name. Some say it’s named for the dragon that the hero Hercules killed during his twelve labors. And what’s interesting is that if you look at Draco’s head, nearby is Hercules!”

“That’s really cool! I mean I’ve seen some stuff on Hercules and heard some stories but it’s really cool that they made the stars kinda work out like that.”

Lucy gave a laugh. “I love mythology too. Oh, do you know why Draco is so long and kind of twisted like that?”

“I bet it’s a cool story! Go on, tell me!”

“Okay, well in other legends, it wasn’t Hercules who killed the dragon but Minerva, or I guess you could call her Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. She was fighting them with her other god and goddess brethren. Well when she killed it, she threw the dragon into the sky and it got frozen before it could untangle itself.”

“Whoa, really?!” Natsu was now looking at her with eyes shining. “Man, the stars are so cool! And pretty!”

Lucy smiled and looked skyward again. “Yeah, it kind of makes me forget my worries when I come out here and it’s just myself.”

“Don’t you get scared of coming here in the dark by yourself?”

“I’m a big girl and usually I always let someone know where I’m going, usually Levy. Other times I’m with classmates so it’s not so bad. And if anyone really tried anything, they’d have a taste of my ‘Lucy Punch’ and ‘Lucy Kick’!” The blonde was quite proud of both of her ‘attacks’. They had sent many a men with their tails between their legs.

That evoked a laugh from the pink-haired band member. It seemed like he lightened up and was now back to his old self. “Man, Luce. I don’t think I wanna fight you.”

“You’ll lose,” Lucy boasted with a smirk. 

Natsu stood up and held up a hand. “Show me. Punch me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t! Just try!” He waved his hand to entice her to hit him. If her punches really were powerful, then maybe he would worry less. There was certain risk when a girl went out alone in the dark. 

He braced himself as he saw Lucy stand up and ready herself. He saw her pull back her fist and direct the punch straight into. . .nothing. She had missed. He watched as she toppled forward and on instinct, he reached out to catch her. He didn’t count on her momentum which sent the both of them tumbling into the grass. 

Lucy had closed her eyes to brace for impact on the ground but instead, she landed on something hard and yet had some give. Peeking, all she got was an eyeful of scarf. Somehow Natsu had managed to twist his body so he took the brunt of the impact. Lucy half lay on him, their limbs a tangled mess. She couldn’t help but catch a whiff of his scent. She couldn’t exactly describe the smell but it was distinctly Natsu. Earthy, maybe a tiny bit smoky (hopefully he didn’t have bad habits), and a certain outdoor-sy, wild type of scent, like the smell of someone coming in after being out in the cold. Okay, yeah, her brain was a little weird sometimes.

“Uh…uh…sorry!” Her face immediately flushed dark red and she scrambled to untangle herself from Natsu. She had to mentally slap herself when she immediately missed the warmth he provided. She noticed the cold now more than ever and she hurriedly grabbed a blanket to wrap around herself.

Natsu pushed himself up with a laugh. “That was some punch, Luce. Wonder if the air got hurt.”

“S-shut up! I usually don’t miss.” 

“Okay.”

“I don’t!”

“Okay.”

“Natsu!”

Natsu let out a hearty laugh. “Okay, Luce. Calm down. I believe ya.” He held up both hand in surrender. There just wasn’t winning with her but he didn’t really want to. It was funny and cute to see her flustered. Lisanna was kind of like that but not as funny. She was more bossy but she had always been like that when they were younger. Natsu didn’t mind it since he had known her for such a long time. At the thought of Lisanna, his smile dimmed again. She had been the reason he wasn’t his usually chipper self.

Natsu had been in his room working on a new song but he had hit writer’s block. He wasn’t good at writing ballad-y, lovey-dovey songs but Laxus had thought it a good idea to challenge themselves. It would prove to future record companies that they were well rounded. They could be tough and full of energy or slow and mellow. It would appeal to a wider array of audiences as well. The group had teased him for being the only one in a committed relationship so writing should have been a piece of cake. Well, actually it was a piece of inedible rock! Like Gajeel’s cooking! Being in a relationship didn’t mean anything. Natsu just wasn’t good at this lovey dovey crap. 

He had checked his phone but there was nothing from Lisanna yet. Normally his white-haired girlfriend would text him multiple times a day just to check in but she hadn’t done so yet. In fact, she hadn’t done so in about three days. Natsu wasn’t worried since she tended to get busy around finals time. After finals, her sister, Mirajane would treat her to a meal and they would have some family time. Natsu didn’t intrude on that because he knew how close knit the Strauss siblings were. Mirajane had taken on a motherly role to her younger siblings and was very protective. 

When Lisanna finally did send a message, it was to tell him that she wouldn’t be available for a few days since she and her siblings were going away on a mini-vacation. She ended the message with a ‘see ya in two weeks, Natsu! Love you!’. With Lisanna gone, there was no one who would listen to him go on for hours about nothing and wouldn’t accompany him on his adventures. He would be bored. So bored. And thus the pouty face even when he asked Lucy to meet up and go look at stars. 

Now that he looked back on it, the decision to text the blonde was a good idea. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the constellations and even came up with interesting stories to tell him. Being with her, he didn’t feel like he had to pretend. With Lisanna, it was like some of the things she said was a foreign language. She would get upset when he complained that his head hurt from all the things she was saying. It ended up with her pouting and he having to do something to quickly diffuse the situation because having Mirajane on his ass was the worst thing imaginable. Sweet-faced Mirajane who was a model. Everyone thought she was an angel but Natsu knew better. No, behind that sweet façade was a monster. A demon, actually. A demon that could rip him a new one and haunt his nightmares for days afterwards. No, that was not happening so he quelled any kind of disagreement the best he could.

Lucy brought a sense of calm for him. Every time he was with Lucy, he let down his guard, let hair down (so to speak), and just focused on having a good time. Like now. Seeing her bundled in her blanket, face still red but her looking at the stars with a different kind of stars in her eyes. He could tell she was really passionate about her fields of study. She talked excitedly about stuff and she dumbed it down for him. He wasn’t stupid, just complicated words hurt his head.

Before he knew it, he found himself crouched beside Lucy. The moonlight was just enough that it bathed the blonde in a pale, silvery light. Her skin seemed to glow, making her seem ethereal, beautiful. Natsu found himself reaching out, drawn by an invisible force towards Lucy. When skin met skin, Lucy turned to look at him and that action caused her cheek to make full contact with his hand. Now he was cupping her cheek in his hand.

“N-Natsu?”

Natsu seemed in a daze as he leaned in, the scent of strawberries luring him closer. Closer. Closer. He was close enough to feel her breath on his face. They were inches, then centimeters. . . millimeters. . .

What the. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry this is a little slow, school has been hectic!


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

“Natsu, what are you doing?”

The pink-haired DragonSlayers member blinked a few times before looking towards the blonde. “Wha-?” He was kneeling, face inches from the ground, lips pursed. Uh. . .

“I think you zoned out while I telling you something. You kinda just spaced out there for a second and then you leaned in like you were wanting to kiss the ground.”

Natsu just stared some more. What was going on? He was sure that he was about ki- no, no, no! He couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t act like that. He wasn’t going to any mistakes that would put his relationship with Lisanna in danger. He may not have been the brightest light bulb but he was no idiot (most of the time). With Lisanna, she had always been there and she had been nothing but supportive. Lucy was his friend. He wasn’t going to mess it up with her by doing something inappropriate.

He let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah uh, guess I’m sleepy or whatever.”

“Do you want to head back?” It had been very long but being out at night and just listening to stories probably wasn’t Natsu’s idea of a good time. She had already told him the story of Draco, which was what he had come for. He seemed to have cheered up since earlier so her job was basically done right? She learned long ago that not everyone had her passion for the stars and would want to sit for hours just staring up at balls of gas emanating light, far enough away that it could take anywhere from a few years to a few millions years to reach Earth. Fascinating to her but not so much a member of a band. 

“Nah,” Natsu fell back onto his back, hands under his head as he stared up. “It’s peaceful here. Makes you forget about stuff and clears the brain.”

Lucy, huddled in her blanket, nodded her agreement. “Yeah, that’s why I like coming here.”

“I’ll show you my secret spot some time,” Natsu offered. It was only fair. Lucy came to show him a spot that was important to her and now he could do the same. It was a place that he had taken Lisanna before, just because he could see that she was stressed about something and needed some peace and quiet. 

“You have a secret spot?”

“Yeah, I go there sometimes when I’m thinkin’ about stuff,” Natsu said. He didn’t go there often but when he did, it was the kind of uninterrupted peace that he liked. 

“Why do you want to show me your secret spot?” She didn’t understand. There was no need for him to do that. Did he read through her? 

“’Cause you showed me yours.” He grinned his trademark grin. His logic was so simple. She did something nice for him so it would be his turn to do something nice for her. He felt that Lucy was much the same way. She didn’t really care about material things, except maybe her phone but wasn’t that all girls? Lisanna had once torn his room apart thinking she dropped it under his bed but it had been in her purse the whole time, on silent. Yeah, girls were scary when they think they lost their phones. It was like a lifeline or something. No, Lucy was more about the immaterial. She cared more about hurt feelings or what others thought. She was always thinking of others, even when it came to Loke. She could have blown it out of proportion and caused a scene, but instead, she had just talked to the bastard.

Natsu wasn’t sure why Loke rankled him like he did. It was probably because Loke had hurt one of the nicest people Natsu knew. Lucy didn’t deserve whatever Loke had done to her. Whenever he thought about it, it made his blood boil. He didn’t think he would have ever had that reaction towards someone he barely knew but it was different with Lucy. With Lucy, it seemed like he had known her forever. She just felt familiar even though he didn’t know her prior to that night at the restaurant. There was something about her that drew his attention and throughout his performance, his eyes kept straying towards her. He had witnessed her interaction with her friend, later he found out her name was Levy, and every time she would make an expression, he immediately memorized it. It was like his brain was hard wired to everything Lucy did.

It was weird because he never had that happen before. Actually, it never happened with Lisanna either, even when she came back into his life, he didn’t memorize her every reaction or every expression. He felt guilty about it because Lisanna was his girlfriend while Lucy was a friend. So then why did his brain want him to kiss Lucy? It made no sense! And now his brain hurt from all this thinking! All he wanted was to make good music and hang out with fun people! 

Lucy found it a little unnerving that Natsu was so quiet and deep into thought. Not that she didn’t think he was capable of it but Natsu seemed to be the type of person who said exactly what was on his mind. Since he wasn’t, he was either deep in thought or sleeping. She glanced over and knew that he wasn’t asleep so he had to be deep in thought. But what was he thinking so deeply about? With Natsu, it could be as serious as a plague or as mundane as his hunger. He was pretty unpredictable, which made for a fun game Lucy played with herself that she named ‘Guess Natsu’s Thoughts’. Every time she would be with him or received a text from him, she would try to guess what he was thinking or what he would type next before she actually received confirmation. More often than not, she was able to correctly guess but there were a few times where he surprised her.

Lucy reached into the bag and grabbed the thermos. It was getting even cooler that she needed something warm to warm her belly. A shiver ran through her and she tried to bundle the blanket even tighter around her. The scent of hot chocolate must have woken Natsu from his thoughts because he sat up abruptly and looked towards Lucy.

“Ya cold, Luce?” He didn’t miss the shiver. Even though she was bundled in a blanket, clearly the cold was affecting her more. He naturally had a higher body temperature so the cold took longer to affect him. Moving closer, Natsu wrapped his arms around the bundle that was Lucy. The blanket felt soft against his arms and he couldn’t help but nuzzle it against his cheek. Lucy knew how to pick blankets. He took a deep whiff and caught the scent of chocolate.

“Hot chocolate!” 

“Want some?” Lucy offered him a cup. She was trying to keep calm about Natsu hugging her. She knew that he was just being nice and trying to keep her warm, but still, she couldn’t fight the blush that spilled over her cheeks. Personal space didn’t seem to exist with Natsu. He was always way too close, especially when she had any food or drinks around her. Natsu’s stomach had to be a black hole. It just sucked everything in and nothing could escape it. 

“Hell yeah!” 

Lucy poured Natsu a cup, the steam rising into the cold air, dancing its elegant dance as it spiraled skyward. “Do you want to know about any other constellations?”

“I dunno. Pick your favorite.” Any story was bound to be interesting and Natsu had a warm cup of hot chocolate to go with a good story.

“I have a lot of favorites,” Lucy commented, “but I’ll tell you the ones that my mom liked.”

“Your mom was into stars too?”

“Yeah, she loved them too. She was the one that got me into stars,” Lucy fondly reminisced.

“Ya see her often?” Natsu asked offhandedly.

Lucy stared into her cup, quiet for a second before she answered. “No, she died when I was little.”

“Aw…shit…sorry Luce, I didn’t-“ Crap, that hadn’t been his intention at all.

The blonde shook her head. “No,” she interrupted, “it’s okay. Yeah, she got sick and never got better. I miss her a lot but when I look up and see the stars, I think she’s up there watching over me.”

One hand grasping his mug, Natsu used his arm that was still around Lucy to give her a gentle squeeze. “Least ya remember her,” he said. Natsu only remembered his dad because his mother had died during childbirth, or at least that was the story. 

The squeeze made Lucy lean against Natsu and she allowed herself that little moment of comfort before brushing away those kind of memories. They were part of her past and while she wouldn’t forget them, she wouldn’t let them control her either. Yes, it was painful and she would prevent it if she could but it already happened and helped her become who she was. Her life now wasn’t to be pitied at all. She had good friends and was doing well in school. Her love life sucked a little but she’d get over it in time. Her resilience was one of her defining features. Every time life knocked her down, she would fight to stand up again.

“Hey, this place is supposed to be a fun place. Don’t bring it down!” Lucy said, sitting up and poking the pink-haired vocalist in the side.

Natsu just stared at her for a moment. “Oi!” He fought hard not to squirm. That poke tickled more than he wanted to let her know.

There was a glint in Lucy’s eye. She knew a twitch when she saw it and Natsu definitely twitched. A smug look spread across her features. “Natsu, are you. . . ticklish?”

It was hard not to react to her question but Natsu sat up slightly straighter. “Psh, nah.”

“Oh really?” An unapologetic finger jabbed itself into his side, right inbetween the ribs and Natsu had to flinch. He fought to keep a steady hold of his mug.

“Oi! Luce! Don’t make me burn myself. Chocolate’s hot you know!”

Lucy laughed. Well now she knew one of his secrets. He was ticklish! She would keep this tidbit of information stored somewhere safe and would occasionally pull it out if needed. “I know, I know,” she said, waving it off, deciding to be merciful and not take another jab in case Natsu really did scald himself.

“So tell me more stories.” Natsu settled comfortably against Lucy, sharing warmth.

Lucy looked skyward again. “I’ll tell you about one of my mom’s favorites, Aquarius.”

Natsu took a sip of chocolate and settled down for more stories.

The weather turned bitterly cold and it had even snowed a few times. Everyone was bundled up in puffy parkas and boots. Natsu wasn’t one to really love the bitter cold but he had fun in the snow. It was priceless when he would hurl his snowballs at the unsuspecting target, like Gajeel. The bassist was the first innocent victim in his snowball surprise attack. He had been coming home from picking up more weights, ta-da surprise surprise! With careful aim and a nice packed snowball, Natsu had hurled it at Gajeel. The snowball had the bassist square in the face and Natsu fell to the ground in laughter.

What ensued was one of the best snowball fights that Natsu had ever had, and that was saying much because as much as he rattled his housemates’ nerves now, he was worse when he was a kid. He loved to get into trouble and it would always be Laxus’ grandfather who bailed him out. 

Laxus’ grandfather was a whole different ballgame. A short statured, graying man who really was a kid at heart. He was kind and gentle, taking in many students into his academy and guiding them into adulthood. A lot of the students were orphans or in a tight spot. He allowed mischief, to a certain extent but Natsu always pushed the boundaries and he was the one who was always on the receiving end of Makarov’s dope slaps to the back of the head for his antics. But afterwards, Makarov would grin and let Natsu continue on his way. Punishment at his finest.

Of course their epic snowball fight then caught Gray off-guard and it turned into a brutal three way battle. Gray had the advantage because he loved the cold. In fact, the crazy bastard even started stripping in the cold and both Gajeel and Natsu took the well-aimed shots at very sensitive areas on the keyboardist’s body. 

Gray amassed a whole artillery of snowballs in a short period of time and got his revenge by pelting Gajeel and Natsu with a hailstorm of snowballs that left them unable to counterattack. War. A snowball war and it was glorious. Though, it had to end when Natsu’s bright idea of attacking Laxus, who had come outside to reprimand them for making so much noise, invoked the drummer’s rage. The three of them weren’t sure how they ended up being buried inside snowmen snow costumes. Laxus had been nice enough to even put a carrot as a nose for all of them.

The pink-haired vocalist tossed and turned in bed, bored out of his mind. He stared at the ceiling, his mind racing back to the stargazing date with Lucy. It had been fun, even if there was no mischief to be done. He learned some things about her that he hadn’t before and it made him look at her in a new light. Natsu now knew that Lucy was strong. Well, he had known that before when she was dealing with her ex-boyfriend, but then he confirmed it by spending the evening with her. 

Even though her mom died when she was little, Lucy grew up to be a girly-girl but she also had a strong sense of independence. Lucy didn’t ask for help very much, or so he observed. She was willing to do things herself even if it got messy. For as long as Natsu knew her, he really only knew her to need help during the couple of times where that Loke-bastard had gone to bother her but she was vulnerable during those times. Natsu admired her strength. She was sure no other girl would have been able to handle it the way Lucy did. 

She was smart, with all her stories but she wasn’t snobby about it. She took time to explain things to him when he didn’t get it and she even brought those pictured star maps with her so he could see drawn out versions of the stars. Even with his vivid imagination, it had been kind of hard to picture some of the constellations. Man, Lucy really liked stars.

Natsu turned to the side and stared at his guitar on its stand. Christmas was coming up in a couple of days and he knew that Lisanna wouldn’t be back until after New Year’s. It was going to be so boring. The DragonSlayers were each doing their own thing for Christmas. Iron Ass was probably going to be busy making those iron weight babies the whole day. Ice Prick was probably going to go eat some snow or icicles or whatever. Laxus probably had some kind of date and wouldn’t be home until late, or even not at all. That just left Natsu all by himself. Damn it would be boring. Throwing snowballs at himself wasn’t much fun. 

Picking up his phone, Natsu checked for any emails from Lisanna. Nothing yet but probably she was having fun with her family. With school and hanging out with Natsu, it was probably a good thing that she spent quality time with her brother and sister. Well, then what was Lucy doing? Maybe she would want to hang out with him on Christmas or something. They could give gifts and have a snowball fight too! 

Pulling up Lucy’s number, Natsu fired off a text. Sitting up, he walked over to the pile of papers and rifled through them. Most of them were musical scores that he was still composing. He had maybe three or four ideas on songs, including Laxus’ mandatory ballad. He wasn’t sure why it was so important for all of them to write a ballad. Gajeel’s would be to his weights, he was sure. No one wanted a song like ‘Ode to Iron’ and have Gajeel croon about how lifting weights made him feel so alive and that he loved nothing but the touch and feel of iron in his hands. Natsu let out an involuntary shiver. No, just no. Maybe they could have an intervention or something and tell Gajeel that his obsession with iron wasn’t healthy. Yeah, he’d pitch it to the guys.

Now Ice Prick’s song? Probably about ice cream or something. How Gray managed to scarf down tub after tub of ice cream and still rock a six pack was beyond anyone. Actually, it was more that Gray munched on ice. Lots and lots of ice, even in the dead of winter. The guy liked the cold. Maybe he’d have icicle babies that would play with Gajeel’s iron weight babies. Weirdos.

His phone notified him that he had a message waiting. Natsu eagerly checked his messages.

[Hey Natsu, I’m not doing anything right now. Did you need something?]

Natsu replied [Doing anything for Christmas?]

There was a pause like Lucy was thinking or something. [Not really. Levy and I just get together Christmas Eve and hang out and try and make cookies. Yourself?]

[Nothing. Wanna hang out?]

Again, another pause. But it wasn’t like Lisanna where it would take her up to a whole day to answer a simple text. Lucy answered, sometimes not right away but she always did answer. Natsu liked that. [Yeah! Let’s make it a get-together. Invite the other guys too if you want.]

Natsu couldn’t help but grin. [Nah, they got plans. Save me some cookies]

[Haha, okay. But get here earlier than later or they might be gone!]

[See ya at Christmas!]

Natsu smiled until his cheeks hurt. Well now he had someone to spend Christmas with and it was his favorite storyteller and her friend. He walked back over to his bed and was about to flop on top of it when his brain reminded him that Christmas meant presents. Crap. Delight turned into horror as he thought about going shopping for presents. Damn it. Girls were hard to shop for. . .okay, correction, most girls were hard to shop for and that included Lisanna. Natsu never really liked shopping and he sucked at it. He didn’t even like to go grocery shopping and that was essential to living. Once Laxus had sent him on a grocery run to get some vegetables and Natsu came back with a banana, one single banana, a can of soup, a steak, and a bottle of detergent. Yeah, needless to say, Laxus never asked him to go on a grocery run anymore after that little fiasco.

Well shit. What was best? A teddy bear? Chocolate? Oh, oh, he knew! Panties! No, no wait, that wasn’t right and it would be weird to give Lucy and Levy something like that. Levy was a little easier to shop for since she liked books. He’d get a giant book, like the dictionary. Perfect! Now for Lucy. . .geez she was a little harder to think about. He didn’t want to give her anything dumb. So he had to go through what he knew about her.

The one thing that instantly popped into his head was the fact that she loved stars. That was something he could use but he wasn’t quite sure how to use it. She already had star maps and probably a telescope. She already had lots of books on it; Natsu had seen her collection during the times he had visited her. It would be tacky to get her some stick-on, glow-in-the-dark stars for her to put on her ceiling. So what was left? Lucy had everything she needed and wanted when it came to stars.

So maybe he should focus on constellations? But where the hell was he going to find something suitable? If he ordered it, would it even come in time? Guess there was walking to do. Sighing, he grabbed his beloved scarf and wrapped it securely around his neck. He pulled out thick socks and pulled them onto his feet before stuffing his feet into boots. It wasn’t snowing this day but it was still cold. How the hell did Ice Prick manage to stand the cold and start stripping?! Maybe instead of calling him Ice Prick, he should be called Frozen Dumbass instead.

Natsu chuckled to himself as he walked out the door and braved the cold to find the perfect gift.

All around town, the streetlamps were decorated with wreaths and lights. Lights were strewn up outside of businesses that had been eager to attract any last minute shoppers on their way home from work. Christmas Eve and the forecast had even hinted at possibly a white Christmas. Trudging through the cold, scarf pulled all the way up over his nose, Natsu shifted the boxes he had under his arm. It was already pretty late when he started the journey to Lucy’s. There was still other stuff he needed to do before he could head over. One of the things was to reply to Lisanna’s email. His girlfriend finally got into contact with him and told him she was fine and that she missed him a lot. A lot of it was her talking about where she had gone and the things she and her siblings had done. Well, as long as she was having fun.

Natsu let out an involuntary shiver. Curse the cold especially when he was just trying to get to Lucy’s warm apartment. She always had the heater running, not like stupid Gray who always turned down the thermostat because he was ‘burning up’. Man, was he having those hot flash things that older women got? Weirdo. Natsu didn’t mind a little cold but he didn’t want to be an icicle thank you very much.

It was hard to ignore the delicious smells that wafted through the air, dancing and enticing Natsu’s nose. He could smell cinnamon everywhere. Cinnamon and pine since there were pines trees everywhere, ladened with decorations for the popular holiday. It was hard not to be excited since he was supposed to spend the holidays alone but thanks to the blonde, he wouldn’t be bored. He only had to pay the small price of a gift but it didn’t matter.

He stared down at the box reserved for Lucy and wondered if he did make the right decision. It had been quite the quest to find something he thought she would like. He was undecided between two things and talking to Levy hadn’t helped at all. The bluenette was helpful only some of the time, okay, make it not helpful at all when she wanted to make it difficult on Natsu. The bookworm chose Christmas to be ‘oh-so-helpful’. Natsu’s brain could not have sounded more sarcastic. He temporarily thought about not getting Levy a present just to spite her but that would have been childish, even for him. What was important was that he had come back with a present that he was satisfied with.

He really couldn’t wait to see Lucy’s face when she opened it. He was glad the store offered to wrap it because the idea of wrapping gifts was still a mystery. How the hell did they do the corners so well?? The last time he wrapped a present, it was years ago and the present was intended for Lisanna. He did such a poor job of it that it mostly fell off as he was handing it to her and she wasn’t really surprised. Lisanna had been nice about it and still thanked him profusely for the gift but it would have been better if she hadn’t seen it.

Natsu chuckled with the memory as he walked up the flight of stairs and over to Lucy’s door.

“Yo, Luce!” Natsu wasn’t known to have a soft-spoken voice, which helped in times like this because then he wouldn’t have to bother knocking.

He heard footsteps and the door swung open a moment later. Inside, the smell of chocolate and sweetness met with his nose. Looks like they were baking cookies and making hot chocolate, which he didn’t mind at all. Lucy’s hot chocolate when they went stargazing had been delicious. There was just a sprinkle of cinnamon to give otherwise boring hot chocolate, a boost in flavor.

“Natsu, you don’t have to yell, just knock.” It was a good thing her neighbors were nice and didn’t mind the commotion. Anyway, it was the holidays so a little noise was fine. She stepped to the side to allow Natsu inside.

Stepping inside, Natsu was glad that Lucy managed to get a tree, albeit a small one. It looked fake but there were presents already under it. Kicking off his shoes in flurry, Natsu plopped his nicely wrapped gifts in the small pile. He looked around not seeing any sign of Levy yet.

“Where’s Levy?”

Lucy closed the door against the cold, thankful for her toasty apartment. “She’s coming a little later, apparently she needed to drop something off first.” Lucy giggled to herself. She knew exactly what the bluenette was doing. It involved a present and a certain bassist.

“The cookies done yet?” His stomach grumbled in anticipation. 

Lucy laughed. It was always about his stomach when it came to Natsu. “Yeah, I’ll get you one.”

“Just one?” Natsu whined. One was a mouthful for him. It had to be at least three. 

“One,” came Lucy’s firm reply. She couldn’t let Natsu eat all of them, just yet. Some had to be set aside for Santa. Yes, she did know that he didn’t exist but it was her way of paying homage to one of the few good memories of her father she had. When her mother was still alive, there was one Christmas she could think of where her father had surprised the both of them but dressing up like Santa and coming home with a giant bag of toys. Of course they weren’t all for her but Lucy got to pick the one she most wanted. The others were donated, by her mother, to charities and orphanages. Her father had gone so far as to eat the cookies she and her mother had spent all day baking before pulling a disappearing act and coming back as her father moments later. It was only one Christmas but for one Christmas her father had been there for Christmas and made her believe that he was kind-hearted. Ever since, she would bake cookies and leave them out for ‘Santa’.

Natsu gave a childish pout. “Man, but it’s Christmas! Gotta be giving, Luce.”

“I am, just not these cookies.” The blonde handed over Natsu’s allotted cookie.

Natsu hurriedly gobbled it up. It was gone too soon but he savored every sweet bite. His eyes strayed to the kitchen, knowing there were more. But one look at Lucy and he directed his attention elsewhere. Plopping down on her couch, he stared at the small pile of presents.

“When do you wanna open ‘em?”

Lucy looked over where Natsu’s gaze was focused. “There’s a rule. One present at midnight, the rest are opened in the morning.” Good thing midnight wasn’t that far away, Lucy had been anxious ever since she put the gifts under her tiny tree.

“Man, you sure are strict, Luce.”

“There has to be some kind of anticipation left for the morning, right?” Lucy smiled and went into the kitchen to fill her biggest mug with hot chocolate for Natsu. The crazy guy still wore that one-sleeved outfit so his arm had to have been cold. “Here, drink this. I can’t believe you’d wear that in these temperatures.”

“It doesn’t bother me that much,” Natsu said with a shrug, though he happily accepted the mug. Natsu too looked at the clock. Once midnight struck, he’d wish Lisanna a ‘Merry Christmas’ even though they were hours ahead.

Lucy took a seat next to the presents. “Natsu. . .” The pink-haired vocalist turned his attention to the blonde, a puzzled look on his face. “You got me something?”

Natsu’s expression turned even more puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You didn’t have to. . .”

“Yeah, but we’re spending Christmas together. Gotta get you a present!” 

Lucy tried not to blush too hard. It was getting hot, maybe she needed to turn down the thermostat because her cheeks were definitely turning pink. “Oh uh, I got you something too.”

“Ya did? You didn’t have to! I’d be good with a dozen of those cookies!” Natsu was simple to please and he was proud of it. Why did he need something that cost a ton of money when something so cheap could make him equally as happy?

A laugh escaped the blonde. “Well if I knew you were so easy to please, I wouldn’t have gotten you what I did!”

“Whadja get me?” Now Natsu’s curiosity spiked.

“You’ll find out later.”

Patience was not a virtue with Natsu. In fact, it was one of his weaknesses. He tended to be rash; more ‘act now, think later’ rather than ‘think before acting’. It tended to get him in trouble often enough but luckily he was able to escape most of the time with light punishments. Snowmen suits, enough said.

There was a soft knock on the door and Lucy went to go answer it. A blur of orange and blue sped past her and headed straight for the microfiber blankets and throws Lucy had lying around. Two or three of them were piled together and then wrapped around a slight figure. Cheeks were rosy.

“Brr, it’s cold out there!”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious Levy!” Lucy laughed, once again shutting the door on the cold.

“Ugh, I wish I hadn’t forgotten my thick jacket.”

“Well you could’ve borrowed mine.”

“Lulu, you’ve got melons on your chest and I don’t. It would’ve looked funny.”

“Levy!!” Lucy’s face was flushed. Levy didn’t need to say that in front of Natsu of all people!

“Hey, just telling the truth, Lulu.” Levy shivered under the blankets but at least her voice was steady. “Looks like I made it before midnight so we can open presents! Oh which reminds me.” She pulled something out from under her jacket and set it with the other presents. Lucy was curious but then again, she had an inkling about the present and the cherub cheeks her friend was sporting. Levy’s attention turned towards the DragonSlayer, mostly to distract herself and maybe her best friend. “Get me anything, Natsu?”

“Sure did!”

“You did? I was just kidding!” Levy hadn’t really wanted anything. She was like Lucy; it wasn’t the gift itself, it was the thought that mattered. “But good thing I got ya something too!”

“Yeah? Something good to eat?” Stomach, always the stomach.

“Nah, but I think you’ll like it!”

Lucy went to sit next to bundled up Levy. “So whose present do you want to open, Levy?”

“’Course I have to pick yours, Lulu! Curiosity and all that.” She’d save the other presents for the morning but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to sleep.

Natsu laughed. “Guess I’ll open Levy’s.”

“Well to make it fair, I’ll open Natsu’s.” She ignored the pointed look Levy was shooting in her direction. “Just so we open one of everyone’s.” That earned her a rolling of the eyes from the bluenette. Damn Levy. Luckily Natsu hadn’t seen anything.

There was little else to do but wait for midnight to roll around. Mostly it was just the three of them talking and Levy and Lucy picking on Natsu. It ended with all of them rolling on the floor in laughter, overall having a good time. Lucy even allowed Natsu two more cookies right before midnight.

Natsu bounced in anticipation as they counted down towards midnight, wrapped presents laid on in their laps. Too bad they were all in boxes so they couldn’t even venture a guess as to what was inside.

“5…4…3…2...1…MERRY CHRISTMAS!” They all shouted in unison. The room was filled with ripping paper and excited murmurs as wrapping paper was flung every which way. Generic boxes were under the wrapping paper so the anxiety built up a little more before they could see what they were given.

Natsu opened the box to reveal an intricately carved figure of a dragon. It seemed to be looking beyond them and their world. Majestic wings were unfurled as if ready to take off into the skies. Amazingly detailed scales gleamed with paint and seemed to shimmer under the light of Lucy’s floorlamp. “Whoa! This is awesome, Levy! Thanks!” Natsu leaped towards the bluenette who had to think fast to catch the other. 

“Knew you’d like it!”

Levy opened her box and gasped. Inside was a beautiful calligraphy set. Lucy always did know her best. Her love of reading and also looking at different types of scripts from various cultures and histories, One of her favorites was calligraphy and she had always been dying to try it. Now she could with her very own set! “Oh my god, Lulu!! You’re the best!” Levy had to keep herself from squealing. The calligraphy set had both a pen and a brush and a real ink pot and a real ink stone.

It was now Lucy’s turn. The box lay in her lap. It was a square wooden box, slightly bigger than her two hands together. It looked heavy for it size too. With bated breath, she slowly opened the cover. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped from her lips. She just stared, dumbstruck at her gift from Natsu. 

Inside the box lay several golden keys. Each key had a distinct, intricately carved blade. The handles all had something different etched into them. She picked one up and examined it closer. The handle was painted a shade of blue and the symbol etched in it was two parallel, jagged lines. “Aquarius,” she breathed. She recognized all the symbols on the handles as signs of the zodiac, which were based on constellations. It was perfect. “Natsu. . .thank you!” She was so touched that he managed to get her such a thoughtful gift, she hadn’t realized that tears were pricking the corner of her eyes.

“Uh, Luce, you okay?” Natsu looked at her. His gift wasn’t supposed to make her cry. Did she hate it?? Oh man, he royally screwed up. . .maybe going with that book would’ve been better. . .crap, shit f-

Before he knew it, he was enveloped in a warm embrace. “Thank you, Natsu.” He heard her voice whisper softly in his ear. Wha-? “Really, thank you. . .I love it.”

“Oh uh. . .long as you like it, Luce. B’sides, all those stories were so good! But man, my brain hurt after looking up all these symbols. Got them confused so I had to have Levy write ‘em down.” There were too many squiggles for him to keep track of but luckily Levy was there to help him and all he had to do was take the piece of paper to the store.

Even Levy was impressed by the gift. “Wow, you really went all out, huh?” She picked up another golden key, this one had Cancer’s symbol.

“Wasn’t so bad,” came the nonchalant answer. It really hadn’t been too costly. The lady at the shop was more than helpful and even gave him a holiday discount along with a discount for getting to many things engraved. He had painted the colors on the keys himself.

Levy smiled and then looked towards the window. “Hey! It’s snowing!!”

Lucy pulled away from Natsu and turned her attention towards the same window. “Yes, a white Christmas!”

“That’s awesome! C’mon!” Natsu grabbed both Lucy and Levy’s hands and tugged them towards the door. It didn’t matter that they were inappropriately dressed. It was perfect that it started to snow right on Christmas Day.

The two women protested the pinkhaired vocalist’s action when the cold hit their skin. “N-Natsu. . .what the hell? It’s cold!”

Natsu just grinned wide. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” He pulled out his phone and opened his email. He sent a quick message to Lisanna to wish her a ‘Merry Christmas’ before going back to enjoy the snow. He opened his mouth wide to catch some of the flakes on his tongue.

“So this is what you do when I’m not here?”

Natsu froze. What? WHAT? Footsteps crunched on the newly fallen snow. 

“L-Lisanna?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who read and continue to support this story and myself!


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Natsu just stared blankly at his girlfriend, standing there, in the snow. Was he really seeing her or was this just some kind of Christmas hallucination? Did Lucy slip something into his hot chocolate or did she bake something ‘special’ into those cookies? He rubbed his eyes, blinked a few times and then stared again but Lisanna was still standing there.

“You’re silly, Natsu,” Lisanna giggled, walking over to him and giving him a tight hug. 

“W-what are you doing here?”

“Spending Christmas with you, dork!” Lisanna looked up at Natsu. She was tired, so tired. The flight had been long and cramped and there had been issues but she had been determined to spend Christmas with Natsu. She knew that he had been disappointed when she told him that she and her siblings were going on a trip. That was the thing about Natsu. He could be so passionate about caring about his friends and family that he would even be willing to be disappointed or even hurt if it meant their happiness. He really was so silly. And sweet.

“That’s great!” Natsu’s voice cut through her thoughts. He was so excited all of a sudden. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be with her family during the holidays but now she was here. With him. There wasn’t much keeping him from jumping for joy. She was here, with him for Christmas. He gave her a big hug back.

Lucy was glad to see Natsu get to spend the holidays with someone he cared about. She knew that he was down about Lisanna leaving. It looked like everything worked out, though. So why was there a tiny place deep inside her that seemed to twinge? Nope, that wasn’t what she was supposed to be feeling so she quashed it quick. Besides, it was the holidays, it was supposed to be spent with people you cared about so this was a good thing.

“Hey, want to come in for something warm to drink?” Lucy offered, not really want to break the moment but Lisanna had to be cold. Her jacket didn’t look too thick and she was probably tired from traveling so far.

“Oh yeah! Lucy makes the best hot chocolate!” Natsu was grinning wide.

Lisanna smiled gratefully but shook her head. “I just want to go home. It’s been a long night.”

“I’ll take ya home! I gotta get your gift though, Lisanna,” Natsu said. He had her present wrapped and tucked under his bed for when she came home. Now that she was here, he could give it to her. On Christmas!

Natsu took his ever present scarf off and wrapped it around Lisanna. Lisanna buried her face into the warm fabric and pulled it up to her ears. “Let’s go home.”

Nodding, the vocalist hesitated for only one moment, turning to look at Lucy and giving her a big wave. “Thanks for everything, Luce! Merry Christmas!” 

Lucy found herself forcing a smile and waving back. Why did it leave a slightly bitter taste in her mouth to see Natsu leaving with Lisanna? She was his girlfriend. Dumb brain tended to forget that. . .or was it something else? Nope! Not going there. The cold seemed to get colder and the snow didn’t seem as pretty. It seemed to blanket everything in a bleak tapestry that weighed heavily on her mind.

Levy could sense the change in her friend. “Lulu! I want some more of that hot chocolate and we got presents and stuff to clean up.” She didn’t wait for an answer before grabbing the blonde’s hand and pulling her back into the warm apartment. The couch looked inviting so Levy threw off her layers and curled up on the plush couch. She wrapped a fleece blanket around her and huddled to get warm.

Lucy followed suit and went into the kitchen to pour the two of them some big mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Not the kind from the packets, no, these were made from cocoa, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Lucy took pride in her hot chocolate because she could make it however she liked it without that prepackaged stuff. If she wanted it creamier, she added more milk. If she needed more sweetness, she added more sugar. If she wanted to make her own mocha, she just added some freshly brewed coffee and it would have just the right amount of sugar and milk already. Levy was hooked the first time she had made it for the both of them. Ever since then, they made a pact to make it every winter.

Shuffling back into the living room, she handed a grateful Levy one of the mugs and curled up next to the bluenette, sipping her own mug. 

“You okay, Lu?”

The question caught her a bit off guard. “What? Yeah, of course I’m okay.”

“Right. . .your McPouty face says it all.”

“I do NOT have a McPouty face!”

“Yeah you do. Ever since Natsu just left with Lisanna.” Levy gave her friend a sideways glance.

“Why would I be upset about that?” Lucy stared at the bluenette. What was Levy on? Maybe this was one of those weird fantasies she got her head wrapped around. She noticed that it was particularly strong when it came to her and Natsu. Did Levy want them to end up together or something? That definitely was not going to happen. Natsu had Lisanna and they seemed super happy together. She could see it on his face. It lit up like the Christmas tree in the center of town when she showed up. 

Lisanna was nice and pretty. Those eyes of hers were really captivating. In fact, there were times where Lucy herself felt as if she were drowning in them. Then the fact that she was majoring in something like Veterinary Science, she was just more impressive. Not to mention that she was already friends with Natsu’s friends. Those were all things that she had over Lucy so she really didn’t see how Levy would want her and Natsu to end up together. 

“Just that your face seemed to droop a little when he left,” Levy said, her tone cautious. 

“It was cold, I was thinking about that,” Lucy answered, maybe a little too quickly. It was time to switch the subject because she knew that her friend could go on forever about her and Natsu and this was Christmas. It was supposed to be about just spending time together, not about impossible fantasies. “Do you really want to stay up all night watching movies or should we sleep and open the rest of the presents when we wake up?”

Damn Lucy! Leave it up to her to give two good suggestions. Levy had to really think about it. Part of her wanted to stay up and binge out on snacks and movies but another part of her wanted to sleep and see what else she got. No, she wasn’t materialistic but she did have a strong curiosity. Mostly it was what Lucy had gotten for Natsu. She already had hers from her friend and she loved it. But there was something under the tiny tree that was for a certain vocalist and Levy had a good idea what it was but it was always good to confirm.

“Mm, I just want to be warm,” Levy finally answered. The hot chocolate was warming her tummy on the inside and the fleece blanket was warming her from the outside. The total warmth was taking a toll and making her sleepy. It didn’t help that the snowball fight took some of the fight out of her. She felt her eyes drooping and she drifted in and out, fighting to stay awake but the lure was too great.

“You can be warm in bed,” Lucy said, taking the mug from her friend before it made a permanent stain on her floor. Setting the mugs on the coffee table, she tugged on Levy’s fleece blanket skin. “C’mon.”

“Too lazy,” came the response from her bluenette friend. 

“If you sleep on the couch, you’re going to get that crick in your neck again,” Lucy warned. The last time Levy had fallen asleep on her couch, there was an ice cream stain on her carpet and the next morning, the bluenette complained all day about her neck being broken because she couldn’t move it very much without pain. Lucy had tried not to laugh but it was hard when they had a shopping date the next day and Levy had to turn her whole body to look at something that Lucy was pointing out every time. There may have been one or five times that didn’t really need Levy’s attention but it was payback for Levy guffawing about Lucy’s leg which fell asleep as they were writing their papers, Then she went and poked it! Oh yes, revenge was delicious.

Levy bound up from the couch, the memory enough to give her a surge of energy. At least enough to go and collapse into Lucy’s bed. She always did love her friend’s comforter. It was soft and warm and just what she needed to fall into a deep sleep. She always did sleep best under Lucy’s comforter, even more than her own. She would have to remember to ask Lucy where she got her comforter. . .maybe in the morning. . .?

Lucy chuckled to herself before throwing the mugs into the sink and then turning off all the lights except for the tree and heading into her bedroom. Levy was already snuggled under the covers. Luckily she had a big enough bed that they could share. Sure, it was cozy with the two of them; Levy liked to sprawl out while she slept, but it would help retain heat better. Shivering against the cooling air, Lucy snuggled into her own bed, inhaling the scent of her laundry detergent and slowly drifting into sleep.

It felt like she had just gotten to sleep when she was being pounced on and awakened by a hyper blue-haired college student. “L-Levy?” Lucy’s sleep-filled voice barely broke the silence. She didn’t get her fill of sleep yet.

“C’mon Lulu!! Christmas! Presents!” Okay, who let Levy into her candy stash? It should be a sin to be so hyper in the morning, before coffee. Mm, coffee. Forcing herself out of the warm comfortable bed, she shivered at the cool morning air. Coffee would be good. Mocha time.

“Mm…coffee first,” she mumbled. Trudging to the bathroom, Lucy didn’t even bother to look in the mirror. Her bedhead was something else. Luckily a few brush strokes was enough to take most of it so she could quickly pull it through a hair tie and keep it away from her face as she readied breakfast. 

“Yeah, coffee!” Okay maybe she could slip Levy some decaf or something instead. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna text everyone ‘Merry Christmas’.” At least there was something to keep her slightly occupied as Lucy went into the kitchen.

Christmas breakfast was always a big show for Lucy. She tried extra hard and went to great length to stock her kitchen. Lucy remembered her mother’s Christmas breakfasts were always so extravagant. French toast, eggs, freshly squeeze juice, piles of bacon and sausages. Crispy hashbrowns sat comfortably next to golden pancakes and bowls of shiny syrup lay glistening just waiting to be feasted upon. Since there was only the two of them, there wouldn’t quite so much but Levy, as small as she was, was able to put away a good amount of food. 

“How do you want your bacon, Lev?”

“Extra crispy!” How Levy could eat meat charcoal was beyond her. At least she liked her bacon somewhat floppy so it actually resembled meat. Meat charcoal, blegh. But if that was what Levy wanted, that was what Levy was going to get.

Pancakes were always a good bet but waffles sounded even better, Waffles had those little squares that held reservoirs of syrup so that each bite was like a bite of sugary, maple-y heaven. Picking the mix out of the cupboard, Lucy hummed as she danced around her kitchen, gathering ingredients for waffles. It was a great thing she decided to get a waffle iron during the holiday sale because it did come in handy. She used it when she had a chance to actually make breakfast. Usually on busy days, she just grabbed a bagel and ran out.

Lucy was well versed in the kitchen so it was only minutes later before the smell of bacon frying and waffles enticed Levy to wander in. “Smell so good, Lulu!” Levy was jealous of her friend’s ability in the kitchen. Levy’s idea of gourmet cooking was making rice in a rice cooker and boiling some eggs. Even then, there were a couple of times were the eggs kind of, sort of, exploded in the pot. She had no idea what happened, just that the eggs started popping and then BAM, eggs were all over the pot in pieces. 

Yeah, so Levy was essentially banned from her kitchen. Actually, Levy was even banned from her own kitchen. One time cleaning up egg from the ceiling was enough thank you very much.

It was a good thing that Lucy was so great in the kitchen. At least she knew that she would never starve.

“Hey Lev, sit down, it’s almost done,” the blonde said, flipping the last waffle from the waffle iron onto the plate. Her stomach growled at the prospect of being able to eat soon. 

Levy plopped herself down in the chair and stared at the plate with sparkling eyes. “You’re the best, Lulu!” The best for feeding her and making her yummy things to eat. There was nothing that Lucy made that Levy didn’t like. Of course then again, beggars couldn’t really be choosy. Levy waited until Lucy had a chance to sit down. There had been something that had been nagging at her since the night before. Lucy sat down and grabbed the syrup, ready to drench her waffle in the sugary goodness when. . . “Lulu?”

The blonde turned to look at her friend. “Yeah?”

“So, what about Natsu?”

A look of confusion crossed her pretty features. “Hm? What about him?”

“Don’t act like that! You KNOW what I mean.”

“Not really.”

“Come on! I saw how you looked when he left with Lisanna.”

Lulu just stared at the bluenette for a minute before resuming her syrup-pouring action. “H-how did I look?” Damn it. Why did she have to bring that up? Lucy gently put the bottle down and she picked up her fork, ready to spear into the delicious breakfast food. Her brain kept going back to the night before, replaying the scene over and over. Natsu’s elated reaction to Lisanna’s impromptu. Natsu’s departure with Lisanna. Natsu Natsu Natsu. With Lisanna. That wasn’t so strange. They were in a relationship so why did it even matter? It didn’t. Not one bit. 

Okay, so maybe it irked her a little tiny bit but that was because she didn’t get a chance to give him his gift. She couldn’t just get a gorgeous gift like the set of Zodiac keys and not get him something in return. Actually, she did get him something. And it was a big something that she wasn’t even sure he would accept because it was the kind of gift that she didn’t think that friends of their level would get each other. She certainly didn’t expect something like those keys from him but it was a pleasant surprise and she loved them. She really did. They were exactly what she would have gotten for herself if she knew that things like that existed. Actually, Lucy was extremely surprised that Natsu thought of something like that. Natsu wasn’t the type of really exude critical thinking. No, he was more of a ‘act now, think later’ type and he really was better at communicating through actions rather than words. But the thing about Natsu, though, was he knew more than he let on. He was more observant than people thought. He paid attention more than he would let anyone know. Just thinking about that made her smile.

“You’re thinking about him now hmm?” Levy couldn’t hide the mirth in her voice. She hadn’t missed the stutter in Lucy’s voice when she had asked the question. It was all too clear on her face. Lucy wasn’t the type to wear all of her emotions on her sleeves but Levy was pretty good at reading Lucy. They weren’t friends for nothing.

“I am not!!” Lucy had never felt so flustered. It was bad when Levy caught her thinking about Natsu, it was worse when Lucy tried to deny it when she knew that Levy wouldn’t believe her. So it all just ended up with her embarrassed and Levy cackling. “I just never got a chance to give him his present.”

“Is that all?” Levy was still suspicious. It had to be more than that, though she knew Lucy did spend a lot of time trying to find something ‘suitable’ for Natsu. She knew that Lucy called countless places to see if they would be willing to try and make what she wanted. Lucy hadn’t wanted to give him something plain like a sweater or a hat or anything too intimate like a watch or any kind of jewelry. But she did want to get him something that would fit him and his personality. Lucy would sometimes spend hours scrolling through gift ideas only to slam her laptop shut in frustration.

When she finally found THE perfect gift, Levy had been woken up at three in the morning with an excited call. All Levy knew was that Natsu had better appreciate a gift that required an ungodly-houred phone call.

“Of course that’s all, now eat your breakfast.” Lucy began to stuff her face so she wouldn’t have to answer any more questions.

Levy just smiled.  
_______  
Natsu was still smiling weeks later when he thought back to Lisanna coming back for Christmas and surprising him. But with that, he couldn’t help but think about Lucy and whether she was mad that he had decided to ditch her. He hadn’t meant to but he was just so excited to spend the holidays with someone he cared about. Lisanna was the closest thing to a family he had, other than the rest of his bandmates. 

Gajeel, Laxus, and Gray were fun to be around but spending the holidays with them just didn’t fit right. Gajeel would spend the whole night singing as loudly as he could. Gray would be naked and probably joining Gajeel in drunk karaoke. Laxus often went out during the holidays and no one really knew what he did. Natsu used to think he spent it with some woman, since women were constantly clinging to him. Laxus heard that and had whapped him over the head, hard. So maybe he wasn’t with a woman, but whatever it was he did it every year. He just never talked about it.

The days were still cold and it was still snowing but with the band being busy again now that spring gigs were coming up, Natsu didn’t really notice. With the whole band busy and classes starting up again, Natsu hadn’t had much time to talk to Lucy. Mostly he just wanted to apologize for leaving so abruptly. Lisanna had stayed the rest of the break and they had mostly just spent the time curled up in front of the fire, reminiscing.

It struck Natsu as strange that they sat there just reminiscing. He knew that Lisanna liked to bring back the past but to this extent, it was a little much, even for her. He had seen a weird kind of look coming from her when she had come back on Christmas but he didn’t really understand it very well. Then the few days that they spent together, all she did was talk about the past. Natsu was happy to reminisce with her because they did have fun when they were kids. Natsu was constantly in trouble and Lisanna was right there to make him feel better after being scolded or punished.

Lately, after all the reminiscing, it seemed like Lisanna was spending more and more time away from him. He knew that she was busy but they barely saw each other once a week now. It was just different and Natsu wasn’t quite used to that. Especially since now Lisanna’s smile seemed to fade a little as well. She wasn’t horribly excited to listen to some of his songs anymore either. In fact, she really seemed kind of distant. Natsu was stumped. Maybe it was time to get another girl’s opinion? Oh man, that meant he needed to talk to someone about girl problems? The vocalist blanched at the idea. Girls. . .yeah, not really his strong suit.

Natsu scribbled a couple more lyrics on sheet music resting on his stand but he wasn’t concentrating. There was something that just kept nagging the back of his mind. Something just didn’t feel right but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

Picking up his phone, Natsu decided to bite the bullet and scrolled through his contacts to find ‘Luce’. Lucy must know a lot about girls, because she was one. That was enough, right?

[Yo, Luce. How ya been?]

Setting the phone aside, Natsu strummed a few more notes. Laxus was on everyone’s ass about coming up with new material. They were being noticed more and more and Laxus told them that their next gig would have industry representatives present. If they were going to break out into the music scene big time, it would be their one chance to impress big shots. The gig itself was some kind of music festival for upcoming bands. It was supposed to be just a showcase but everyone knew that it turned out to be a competition. Wagers were made on which band or group would make it.

Laxus really did think they had a good chance this year. Natsu knew that Laxus didn’t really take chances that he knew were losing chances. If he entered them in the festival, he really believed they would make it big. 

His phone buzzed with an incoming message. A little too eagerly, he grabbed his phone.

[Nothing much. Just school. What’s up?]

Okay, so far so good. Lucy didn’t seem to be mad at him though he really couldn’t tell tone with text messages.

[Wanna meet up?]

[Yeah sure, where?]

[You at home?]

[School, but I can be at home in a half hour.]

[K. See ya]

Not bothering with much else besides a zipped hoodie jacket, Natsu started out towards Lucy’s house. A half hour and she would be home so that meant he probably had to run. That was fine, he enjoyed a good run to get the blood pumping. It would be his workout for the day. His only workout because he wasn’t going to be like Gajeel. Nope, no iron for him. 

Stretching a little on the doorstep, Natsu took off at a comfortable pace towards Lucy’s. He had been over there so often that he didn’t really even think about which route to take. He just followed where his body took him and he would get to Lucy’s apartment no problem. Yeah, no trains, no cars, nothing that moved was just fine with him. Besides, it kept him health enough with all the junk that they ate at home. Hm, maybe that’s why Iron Ass was always pumping weights . . .damn, so the guy really did have a good reason to make those iron weight babies.

Well maybe not every one of his babies would be made of iron. Lately, he had seen the Iron Ass sneaking about on his phone and asking weird questions. The last time Lisanna had been there, he had been asking about places that girls liked to go. What was up with him anyway? Did he find someone he liked? There was no away that Gajeel actually managed to attract someone right? Who would want to spend all day polishing weights and working out? Natsu imagined that any woman who liked Gajeel had to be buff to keep up with him right? Either that or she didn’t mind his countless attempts at singing love songs. Did Iron Ass really come off as romantic? Couldn’t be.

He’d tuck that away for later because he was almost to Lucy’s house anyway. Thinking about Gajeel and his iron weights took a long time apparently but it at least distracted him enough. A smile spread across his face as he neared Lucy’s apartment. That place always brought a smile to his face since he always had good memories there. Lucy was always kind enough of feed him and let him sleep on her floor, even though the latter part probably wasn’t because she wanted to. She was just too nice sometimes. 

He saw her with a bag in her hands. His superior sense of smell told him that she was carrying some kind of food. His stomach automatically growled. It never really mattered if he ate moments before, if he smelled food, he would eat it. Why let food go to waste?

“Yo! Luce!” Natsu called out, waving his hand, huge grin still spread across his face.

The blonde slowly turned and smiled. Wow, was Lucy’s smile always that pretty or bright? He didn’t know but it was good to see her and her smile again. How long ago was Christmas? That was the last time he had seen her. New Year’s had been busy with an unexpected performance at the town square for the New Year’s Eve party. It had been last minute and they scrambled to put together a playlist. He had scanned the crowd to see if he could spot Lucy and Levy but he had only seen Lisanna standing in the front. Had he seen the blonde and her friend, he would have gone and apologized earlier.

“Hey Natsu, how are things?”

“Good good, how’ve ya been?” 

“Busy, school started again. You”

“Yeah. Busy, ‘cause we’re writing new songs.” He took the bag from Lucy and helped her carry it upstairs. He knew he didn’t have to do it but he wanted to. He waited patiently until Lucy opened the door and ushered him inside before closing the door on the cold.

A warm, cozy apartment greeted him. He never realized that his hands and feet were numb until feeling started to come back and it felt like pins and needles were being stuck in his skin.

“So. . .why did you want to meet up?” Natsu was there so she automatically went for two sets of tableware. Her mind already knew what to grab. It wasn’t like she minded sharing her food at all. In fact, she noticed that when she bought food, she tended to stock a little more than usual and also grabbed a couple of spicy items just in case.

“Oh yeah,” Natsu said. He had been too focused on the food. “I uh, wanted to say sorry ‘bout Christmas. I didn’t mean to just ditch ya like that.”

Lucy just stared at the pink-haired vocalist. He wanted to meet up just to apologize? It could have been done over the phone if needed and there really wasn’t anything he needed to apologize for. Him leaving with Lisanna was a given. She hadn’t been upset by it. Not really. Yeah, she felt a little sad that he hadn’t been there but that was how she felt about all canceled plans. 

Yeah right. The little voice kicked in at the most inopportune time. You were more upset than you wanted to let on. You were secretly disappointed that he left. Christmas together would have been fun with the two of them. And you always enjoy time with Natsu. BUT, be careful, girlie. You can’t be stepping on someone else’s territory. Remember, that’s how you got hurt. You can’t do the same thing. Natsu’s a taken man.

Stupid brain. She wasn’t even interested in him like that! The nerve of her brain to go beyond her thoughts and try and piece things that didn’t even go together. Ugh. So if it wasn’t true, why was she so upset and why did she deny so vehemently? 

“Oh it’s really okay! Lisanna was back so that was cool for you.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t even get to open the rest of the presents! I didn’t get to open yours!”

Oh right! Natsu’s present had stayed hidden in her closet. It was a little big so putting it out with the other presents under the tree would have made Natsu too curious and he wouldn’t have opened Levy’s first. “Oh yeah, I still have it! You can open it now if you want.”

“Yeah I want to!” Man, it felt good to get a present when the new year had already begun and it wasn’t even his birthday. Natsu felt giddy with anticipation when the blonde disappeared into her bedroom for her gift. He heard her grunt as she lifted something. Was it something heavy? Oh no! Did she get him an iron weight set? Was she telling him to go have Iron Weight Babies?? Oh no . . .

Lucy came back with a large rectangular box. With no room on the table, she set it on the floor. “Whew, I forgot how heavy it was,” she said with a chuckle.

“What is it?” There was a slight note of apprehension in his voice. 

“Open it and find out, silly,” Lucy said. There was a flutter of butterflies in her stomach. Would he really like it? Was the gift even appropriate? 

Natsu got up from his seat and sat at the nearest end of the box. Looking at the carefully wrapped present, he reached out and tapped it. Maybe he could find out if it was iron just from the sound? He looked back at Lucy who had a weird expression. It was something mixed between fear and amusement. Taking a deep breath, Natsu finally tore into the paper. Underneath it was. . . 

. . .a brown rectangular box. A small sigh of relief came from the vocalist before he started in towards the box. Yanking the flaps open, he reached inside to feel something made from hard plastic. Confused, he pulled it out.

As the case came out, Natsu’s eyes grew bigger and bigger. No way!

With the black case in front, he opened the latches and inside, lying nestled and safely tucked was. . . 

. . . a brand new acoustic guitar.

The body had two intricately carved dragons curving along each side of the bridge. The dragons were stained darker than the guitar which made them stand out even more. It was a beautiful piece of work. 

“N-No way. . .for me?” Natsu’s breath was barely above a whisper. He gingerly lifted the guitar, eyes still focused on the dragons. She really did give him the best gift. She managed to incorporate his love of dragons with his passion for music. How was it that she knew him so well even though they’ve only been friends a short while? 

“Yeah, turn it around.” Lucy couldn’t keep her heart from thumping in relief.

Natsu carefully turned the guitar around and his eyes fell on the design on the back. He was puzzled. It was red and it kind of looked like a bird of some sort. It was kinda cool. “What is that?”

“I had a friend draw it up. I remembered that the first song I ever heard from you guy was ‘Fairy Tail’, so I had time to sketch something out and this was the result. . .do you like it?” Natsu didn’t say anything for a while and it was a little unnerving. For a moment, Lucy was having crazy thoughts running through her head. Did he hate it? Was it the wrong thing to get him? Was it too presumptuous of her? He already had one? Did Lisanna get him something similar? The last one would have been horrible. “Uh. . .Natsu?” He wasn’t saying anything! Was he broken??

Without another word Natsu threw himself at Lucy, hugging her close. Lucy’s eyes went wide. W-what? What was. . .going on?

“IT’S THE BEST GIFT EVER!! LUCE, YOU’RE THE BEST!” came Natsu’s deafening shout. His arms hugged her tightly. Lucy was sure that he would be able to feel the thudding of her heart against his chest; it was that strong. 

The guitar really was awesome! He liked that she incorporated the two things he loved in life; dragons and music. He had been wanting to get a new guitar but had been dilly-dallying for a while. Now, he didn’t need to pick and choose. Even if he did, he probably couldn’t have come up with anything half as cool as Lucy did.

Lucy chuckled softly at Natsu’s reaction. The nights of frustration and the endless called made it worth it since he liked it so much. 

“You’re welcome,” she patted his back gently. She was entirely too aware of how Natsu felt pressed up against her. She could feel the hardness of his chest against her, the strength of his arms around her. She could feel the heat radiating between them. Oh how she was torn between letting the hug continue and pulling away. 

Natsu pulled away first, making the decision for her but what he did next, took her completely by surprise.

He kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support!


End file.
